


Poison

by AnthemInMyTveit (SoWrongItsLottie)



Category: Graceland (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Bello, case!fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-09-01 22:21:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 28,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16774048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoWrongItsLottie/pseuds/AnthemInMyTveit
Summary: “I’m Poison, Mike!” Briggs shouts, spinning his head round to face the younger Agent.Paul Briggs knows that he’s a mess; he has been ever since the incident down in Mexico with Jangles, he’s not going to deny it. Although he never thought for a single second that he would ever let Agent Mike Warren, Mr Boy Scout himself, in on his most darkest secret. When Mike takes a turn for the worse following Bello’s assault, Briggs makes it his mission to get Agent Warren out of Graceland and to DC, where he belongs. But can he really go through with his plan and say goodbye to the person who has had his back since day one?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Good Evening, Gracelanders :)  
> This work right here is something that I co-wrote with MyOwnWay - Paul's chapters were written by MyOwnWay, and Mike's chapters were written by myself - coming up to two years ago and it was originally deleted following a disagreement but I think now is the time for it to come back into the light of the fandom - hopefully we still have some active Graceland fans - I hope you all enjoy this as much as we enjoyed writing it (the chapters will get longer as the story progresses). Give us a shout in the comments and let us know what you think! - _AnthemInMyTveit_

Paul stumbles through the doors of the safe house.

He doesn’t even know how he’s able to put one leg in front of the other. He had lost count on how much he actually had to drink, he had lost count of the reasons why he needed to drink so much in the first place. He was just so full of angst, so full of anger that all he wanted was to forget just for a moment… just forget all of the covers and the stories and just be himself, whoever that may be, at least for a little while.

Paul especially wanted to forget today.

It had been a close call; too close. His cover had been blown. A local gang member who had been trying to prove himself had gotten lucky. It hadn’t been the first time he had felt a knife press against his skin, but in that moment, it felt just like it. He knew that lately he had been feeling invincible, but as the blade pressed harder into his skin, and the sensation of the blood trickled down his back – he knew that he wasn’t indestructible and that scared him more than anything else, so he drank. Looking down at his knuckles, he winced when he saw they were stained with blood, another bar fight; he had found himself craving any sort of fight just to feel something. But that had stopped working a long time ago, it was as though he picked the fights in the bar out of habit more than anything. It was simply a new habit to kick an old one.

No one was supposed to be home, all of them on their own undercover missions.

That was why he had chosen tonight to go out drinking; he didn’t want anyone to witness his breakdown.

He hadn’t expected to see Mike doing the dishes.

Walking through the front door, he shut it behind him and pushed his feet to take him in the direction of the sofa, the room was spinning and all he wanted to do now was sleep. As he walked towards the sofa, he was very much aware of Mike’s eyes on him. He wasn’t too sure if the kid was speaking or not, he was certain he could see his lips moving but he couldn’t register his words in his mind.

Once he was sure he was by the sofa, he let his body drop and sighed as he closed his eyes.

He didn’t know if he was dreaming or imagining things but Mike was there beside him, a hand on his forehead rubbing his temples and maybe he was whispering something but he was in too deep to tell, but all he knew was the touches felt nice and that was the most he had felt in a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

Of all the things Mike Warren could be doing in California on a Friday night, he did not expect to be at home, cleaning a pile of dirty dishes. It wasn’t even his allocated day on the chore wheel to tidy up the kitchen, but he didn’t care. After the week he’s had, ignoring whose turn it is on the chore wheel was the least of his problems. Besides, it’s not as though Johnny would be complaining about not having to do the dishes when he gets back home from whatever he’s doing; probably avoiding the ever-growing stack of paperwork by drinking and flirting with a selection of potential one night stands at _**The Drop**_ … in all honesty, Mike could be at _**The Drop**_ too, if only he hadn’t fucked things up with Abby.

Now, there’s a girl who he would have happily abandoned the dishes for tonight.

As much as he hated to admit it, he should have listened to Paige when she had offered him advice on how to go about breaking up with Abby before he got in too deep with her, but he couldn’t find it in him to just let her go. In his mind, she was like his own personal safe house in a world full of corruption, danger and lies, and he liked that about her. It’s true that their relationship started off with a little number of white lies and Paige could argue that the whole relationship was made of lies – it’s what comes with the territory of being an undercover Agent working for the FBI – but Mike didn’t care; he was just happy to have someone he could be himself around… or, at least, a better version of himself.

The sound of the front door closing brings Mike out of his thoughts of Abby, and he peers over his shoulder, watching as his mentor and idol, Paul Briggs, stumbles drunkenly towards the couch before crashing down on top of it. Mike turned round to pick up one of the hand towels from the counter top and quickly began to dry the soapy residue that the washing up liquid had left on his hands. It wasn’t a shock to Mike that Briggs had come home drunk, if he’s being completely honest, he’s more surprised about the fact that he’s beaten Johnny home but still, Mike couldn’t help but worry about his roommate as he abandons the remaining dishes to walk into the living area, his arms folded across his chest.

“Hey, good night?” Mike asks, watching as Paul tries to plump up one of the cushions before giving up.

From the looks of things, he was too out of it to even notice that Mike had abandoned the dishes.

_It wouldn’t be the first time_ , Mike thinks to himself as Paul’s eyes close.

He knew that he wasn’t going to get an answer out of the man tonight but that didn’t stop him from walking over to the couch and pressing a hand soothingly against his forehead. A frown forms when he realizes that there’s no sign of a fever, so it could just be the alcohol that was causing the older man’s cheeks to look a little flushed, but still… just as Mike’s about to turn back to the kitchen, a throaty chuckle escapes through Paul’s lips as his head nuzzles against the back of the couch, the action reminding Mike of a dog trying to scratch an itch. The chuckle lasts for a second but it’s enough for Mike to let out a sigh as he takes hold of a blanket and throws it over the sleeping man before crouching down beside him.

“Why are you doing this to yourself, Paul?” Mike whispers, resting his hand on the older man’s shoulder.

Upon hearing the soft snores of the Agent in question, Mike stands from his position next to the couch and moves a few steps towards the kitchen where he picks his cell phone off the counter, his thumb scrolling through the contacts before landing on one name in particular. He was just about to hit the ‘call’ button when he paused, his thumb hovering in the air above the green icon as he contemplated his options. He could deal with this on his own but the most obvious option would be to call Charlie, it was only logical given their history, but she was currently out on her own assignment with one of the local heroin suppliers and he had no idea when she was due to return home.

As much as they both try to deny their feelings, it’s no secret to the Graceland household that at one time or another, the two FBI Agents had hooked up. How could they not? They both entered Graceland at roughly the same time as the other, and ever since then their relationship has grown. That’s not to say that there hasn’t been any highs or lows but if something got thrown in their way, you can guarantee that they would come out on top, regardless of the situation; it’s what makes them great partners… it’s why the other Agents respect their advice and opinions.

Looking back over his shoulder at Briggs, and knowing that he’ll have to wait for Charlie to be free in order to talk to her, Mike lets out a small sigh and quickly types out a text, not giving anything away that could potentially blow her cover if she was to check her phone but just providing enough information to let her know that he could really use her help when she finally manages to close whatever case she’s working on.

> _**When you get home, we really need to talk.  
>  I think Briggs might be in trouble. - M** _

__  


Satisfied with the message, he quickly hits ‘send’ and shoved his phone into his back pocket.

Having had enough of the dishes for one night, Mike turns to look at Briggs one more time before heading for the stairs, praying to all that is mighty that Charlie will come home as soon as she sees the text. He could probably handle Briggs on his own, but he’s learnt that having the support of someone in the same house, elevates some of the stress and worry. Besides, he would be stupid to turn down her help.

As Mike reaches his bedroom, he’s determined to find out what’s bothering Briggs. He refuses to let him continue down this path od destruction. It’s not healthy and he’ll be damned if he’s going to just stand by and watch the finest Agent he’s ever known destroy not only his career but his life.

Paul Briggs has saved his life countless times before, and it’s now down to Mike to return the favour.


	3. Chapter 3

Paul was certain that the world was spinning, that the floor beneath him was rotating a thousand miles an hour and he couldn’t steady himself. Sitting up, he felt bile rise in his throat and he was only able to turn his head before he was sick on himself and the couch he had passed out on. Groaning, once he had finished emptying the contents of his stomach, he moved away from the couch and the smell of his own vomit, before he heads up to his bedroom. He knew full well that the house would be pissed at him for being sick downstairs and not cleaning it up right away but right now he just didn’t care. All he wanted was to sleep, and just shut the world out. Was that too much to ask?

Paul didn’t know how long he had slept for, or in all honesty if he had actually slept but he felt a little better for it. He sat up slowly, glad that the room wasn’t spinning as much now or that he didn’t feel as though he was going to throw his guts up. Walking forward to the en-suite bathroom, he ran a hand through his hair. He knew that he should probably get it cut soon, that it was starting to get unruly but he couldn’t find the energy to do it. He had a quick shower, allowing the cold water to hit his body like little shards of ice. To others it would have been enough for them to turn the temperature up, but Paul liked the sensation. It made him feel something, even if it was discomfort.

Twenty minutes later and only mildly refreshed, Paul headed downstairs. Frowning, Paul walked towards the couch where he had thrown up and paused in his tracks. All he could smell was bleach and cleaner. He took a second to look round the room but no one else was there, it was empty. If it hadn’t been for how hard he had brushed his teeth to get the taste from his mouth, he would never have known he had thrown up at all.

“Yo!”

Paul turned around at Johnny’s voice.

He looked towards the stairs and saw the younger Agent practically bouncing down them.

“What’s up, Johnny?” Paul asked, nodding towards him.

Straight away, Paul knew that it hadn’t been Johnny who had cleaned up after him. If it had been, then he knew he would have started off with some kind of joke or smart-ass comment, but instead all he got was his trademark greeting.

“You hangin’, bro?” Johnny laughed.

Paul didn’t want to admit that his voice… his _happiness_ … went right through him.

“Something like that,” Paul sighed, sitting on the edge of the couch before he asked, “Where is everyone?”

“Charlie and Paige are both out on cases, Jakes is out wherever Jakes goes in his little truck, and Mike said that he was heading down to the beach for his usual morning run; he’s been gone for a while though so he should be back soon.”

“Okay.” Paul nodded. “I need some air.”

“Are you okay?” Johnny asked, his voice lowering to a soft tone.

Paul sighed, he didn’t like it when people were worrying about him.

He was supposed to be the man of the house, the one who fixed everyone’s problems, the one who help all of the answers.

“Yeah, just lost my head in a case, that’s all. I’m trying to shake it off but some of it is still sticking to the forefront.” Paul lied easily, the habit becoming second nature to him. “I’m going to go for a walk to clear my head. I’ll catch you later.”

“Okay,” Johnny sighed.

Paul didn’t look back at Johnny, he just walked out of the house heading towards the beach.

The beach was where he could clear his head. Of course, he preferred it at night when he could be there alone and lose himself in his thoughts. But now, in the bright sun, it was crowded with couples, families, men and women just going on about their normal lives. Paul had given up wishing for normalcy in his life long ago. Undercover, lies, secrets… that was his normal.

“Good to see you up and about.”

Paul sighed when he saw Mike jogging towards him.

Mike who was so naïve, still thinking that he could be himself and be a part of Graceland. The house and all that came with it hadn’t consumed him yet. Paul secretly wanted Mike to leave, well… a part of him wanted him to leave, so that he could go to Washington and be the person he deserved to be. Not drown in multiple lies. But the other part of him… the other part wanted Mike to stay and would do anything for that to happen.

“Yeah…”

Paul knew it was a lame response, and he should have said something sarcastic but he just didn’t have the energy right now.

“Hey, thanks for… you know… I…”

“Don’t worry about it. As long as you’re okay,” Mike replied softly.

“I’m…” Paul trailed off, not sure how to go about his next words.

He wanted to say that he was, but the other part of him – the part that wanted Mike around – won.

“I’m working on it.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Mike asked.

If it had been anyone else, then he was sure to have said no, but this was Mike.

“I…”

Before Paul could even know what he was saying, his phone went off in his back pocket. The number that flashed up on the ID screen was for a dealer who had been pushing deadly narcotics to teenagers in the area, and he was someone Paul was so desperate to catch.

“I need to take this,” he sighed.

The dealer wanted to meet up with him, and Paul had agreed without missing a beat. If they weren’t getting so close to finding out who was making this specific brand of narcotic, then Paul would have blown it off completely. But he was in too deep… he was too close to this case for that.

“I have to go.”

“When you get back, we’ll talk.” Mike said.

Paul stopped in his tracks and turns back to him.

“Okay. We’ll talk.” Paul said, surprising himself with the words that slipped from his mouth. “Thank you.”

“Good luck.” Mike smiled, gesturing to the phone. “If you need anything, I’ll be at the house.”

Paul nodded and walked away from Mike, slowly slipping into his undercover persona, once again forgetting the real Paul Briggs and for the first time in a long time, it felt really good not to be himself for a while… even if it was just for a case.


	4. Chapter 4

As music coursed its way through the headphones resting in Mike’s ears, he urges his legs to pump faster and harder against the soft sand beneath his feet, the early California sun glaring daggers at his eyes as he moves with ease along the beach. Mike loved running, always has ever since he was a little kid. He loved the feeling of the wind hitting against his sweat-covered body as he ran as fast as he could; it was like the wind was a strong force trying to stop him from progressing forward, but with some extra determination, he just kept breaking through the unseen barrier, overcoming every obstacle in his path. It doesn’t matter how he’s feeling, as soon as he starts to run, he just loses himself in the moment and concentrates on his breathing, letting out all of his built-up energy and emotions; frustration, _breathe_ , anger, _breathe_ , fear, _breathe_ , worry…

All of his worries and fears for Paul had only escalated when he came down the stairs this morning at five o’clock to find the couch caked in vomit. If he hadn’t witnessed Paul returning home intoxicated and stumbling through the living room then he would have just assumed that it was Johnny who had left the mess. Mike couldn’t risk the other housemates knowing about Briggs’ little drunken escapade, so before anything else, he set to cleaning up the mess, taking extra care to make sure that no trace of evidence was left behind. All the time he was cleaning, he couldn’t help but think of Briggs. He may seem as though he was spiraling out of control last night, but when Mike really thinks about it, Briggs is actually more in control of everything around him than most of the occupants of Graceland. Maybe Mike was being a little hasty in sending Charlie a text for help. Maybe he was just jumping to conclusions that something was wrong with Briggs; he has had one hell of a case after all, and Mike probably would’ve drunk himself into the same state if he had to go through what Briggs had.

Still, the interaction with Briggs on the beach was a little weird but Mike didn’t think too much of it as he made his way back towards Graceland. Knowing the kind of person he is, Mike should be happy that Briggs had agreed to talk with him when he gets back home. To tell you the truth, Mike was more than expecting him to say that nothing was wrong, that it was just a one-time thing. Still, there was a small voice in the back of his head that was urging him to keep an eye on Briggs, but if Briggs said that he was working on becoming okay, then Mike believes him. Although he still makes a promise to himself that the very moment Briggs asks for it, Mike will be there to help him through whatever internal battle he’s facing the best he could. It’s the least Mike could do after Briggs has saved his life more times than he’d like to admit.

Mike takes the steps up to Graceland two at a time, his breath coming out in shallow bursts as he stopped at the top for a second or two in order to steady himself before opening the front door. For the past few days he has been finding himself getting out of breath for a lot longer after his run, and he had noticed that his appetite has faded down to a flickering flame during dinners. He can only hope that he’s not getting sick, that’s the absolute last thing he needs right now especially not with everything else that’s going on. Still, he’s not going to worry about it too much. Maybe he just needs to warm up a little bit more before running, maybe do some more breathing exercises.

“Yo, Mike-ay!” Johnny calls out to him from his position at the breakfast bar. “Briggs was looking for you… did he manage to catch up with you?” He paused for a second, contemplating his next words before adding, “He wasn’t looking so hot…”

“Hey, JT. Yeah, I saw him on my way back. He got a call come through so he had to take off.” Mike explains, taking the headphones from his ear and placing his iPod down on the counter. “After the case he’s just had, he probably just needs a couple of days to bounce back; it was pretty bad. It would take its toll on anyone who had to work it. I wouldn’t worry too much, he’ll be okay.”

“Right… are _you_ okay?” Johnny asks, noticing the subtle shake of Mike’s hand and slightly flushed cheeks.

Mike contemplates his response for a second before answering.

His breathing had returned back to a normal level, but as he focuses on his body, he could feel all the usual aches and pains of a post-workout run. It had been a while since he had worked himself so hard on a run, after everything that happened with Bello and how long it took for him to heal after almost getting gutted, Mike simply put it down to just being out of practice. He’ll be back at his usual fitness level soon enough. Besides, he can’t have Johnny thinking that he’s the most superior when it comes to running; he doesn’t need any more of an ego boost.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Mike says with an air of certainty as he heads towards the fridge and selects a yogurt and after a moment of consideration, he reaches up and pulls down DJ’s orange juice, pouring himself a glass before putting it back on the shelf where he found it; he’ll just buy him another carton when it’s his turn on the chore wheel to do the grocery run. If he notices, of course.

Johnny raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything as Mike downed it in three gulps.

“Have you heard from Paige or Charlie? Do you have any idea when they’re going to be back?” Mike asked, turning his attention towards the yogurt pot. It’s not the most filling of breakfasts, but it will do; he’s never been a big eater, not even when he was little.

“Paige said that her case should be wrapping itself up within the next few days, at least that’s what I got from the message she left on the answering machine. Charlie… she’ll be back in a couple of days, the last I heard was she hit a snag with one of her leads so she’s trying to find some other angle to work on.” Johnny reels off as he takes a bite of his pancake. “If you’re not busy later, do you fancy taking a little ride on the waves? Jakes is pissing me off and I could do with the company, maybe grab Briggs too.”

Mike thinks about it for a moment before nodding. “Sure, just let me know when and I’ll let Briggs know when he’s back. I’ve actually got some paperwork that needs my attention first, but I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”

“Cool, I’ll see you out on the waves, Mikey.”

Mike throws his empty yogurt pot in the trash before waving bye, heading towards the direction of the stairs. He really needs to shower. With the worry of Briggs and the events of last night pushed to the back of his mind, Mike felt content enough that the worst of their troubles were over, and once Paige and Charlie wrap up their cases and return back home, everything will be even better than before.

_Maybe being here won’t be as bad as I thought_ …

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, how are you liking this so far?  
> Make sure you let me know in the comments below!  
> \- _AnthemInMyTveit_


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to _irisstone16_ for the unbelievably awesome comment left on the previous chapter!  
> If you're liking this story so far, give me a shout in the comments! #TeamGraceland  
> (Also, I know they don't have a gym situated within Graceland, but just go along with the flow, okay?)  
> \- _AnthemInMyTveit_

The next few days went by in a mad blur, and Paul couldn’t catch a break.

A deal had gone sideways and he knew that the FBI wasn’t pleased with him, but what he wasn’t expecting after the deal went wrong and after having a sharp knife running down his stomach was for the head of his department, Special Agent Clarke, to pull him in for a debrief and lecture him about how disappointed he was with the result of the case.

It had felt like weeks since he had his conversation with Mike on the beach, and boy, how his mood had changed since then. He had been at a low point when he spoke to Mike, but now he felt his mind was six feet under and he was gasping for breath. He couldn’t really pin-point why he was so lost. It was coming up to the one-year anniversary of him being clean and he knew that was part of the reason, but he didn’t want that to be the main reason; drugs did not control his life. Though he knew that was crap. Drugs were on his mind every day, even if it was mostly his job, his mind always wondered to what his next high would feel like when it eventually arrived.

Parking in front of the house, Paul took a deep breath.

Was he ready to go inside?

He knew they all knew about the bust. Charlie had been calling him all day, Johnny too. Hell, even Jakes took the time to message him. Paul hadn’t responded to anyone though, he was the one who was meant to know what he was doing. He didn’t make mistakes, he saw through a plan a million different ways, always having a back-up plan. But he hadn’t seen through any of what happened and inside he was scared it would happen again.

Walking around the side of the house, he used the side entrance and let himself in, the basement of Graceland had been converted when he first moved in, into a state-of-the-art gym. A room that had become his safe haven. Needing to clear his head, he shrugged off his leather jacket and walked over to the punching bag. He knew that he should put his gloves on, but he needed to feel something and as his fists connected with the leather, he couldn’t deny that the pain didn’t feel good.

“You should wear gloves when you’re doing that.” Mike’s voice made Paul stop.

He caught the punching bag with both hands and sighed. He didn’t have the patience to talk to him right now. Mike’s optimism was draining, especially at times like this when all Paul wanted to do was block everything and everyone out.

“No shit.” Paul grunted and raised his fist to the bag once more.

“Do you want to talk?” Mike asked, clearly ignoring the comment.

“No.” Paul ground his teeth, looking down.

He could feel his body tense, he didn’t want to be near anyone right now and maybe coming back to the house wasn’t a good idea.

He should have gone to the apartment he rented for times like these, but maybe a part of him did want to be here.

“Okay, well… we’re worried.” Mike said bluntly.

“Thanks for the concern, kid, but I’m fine.” Paul sighed as he moved away from the punching bag and took a moment before he turned to look at Mike who was sat on the basement steps. “Everyone has a bad day, this was mine. Don’t get used to it.”

“Was it more than a bad day?” Mike pressed.

Paul gritted his teeth.

Why did Mike always have to ask so many questions?

Why couldn’t he just leave him be?

“No, Mike. It was just a bad day. It was a bad case and it was fucked up.” Paul said, and at this point he really didn’t know if he was lying or not, and if he was being completely honest with himself, that scared him more than anything.

“The last time I saw you, on the beach, you said that you would talk to me…”

“I changed my mind,” Paul shrugged. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Well… I’m here when you’ve calmed down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Paul shouted.

He hated how he made Mike flinch, but his anger was starting to get the better of him.

“Just… don’t tell me what to do. I’ll talk when I’ll talk but until then just leave me alone.”

Paul moved forward and pushed past Mike to get up the stairs.

It was only when he was safe in the familiar confines of his bedroom that he realized just how pale Mike had looked, and how he had missed the way Mike had fallen to the bottom of the steps, holding tightly onto his stomach as the pain caused him to blackout.


	6. Chapter 6

Charlie DeMarco was used to noise. It came with the territory when you stick four rowdy guys in one house; government officials or not. However, she wasn’t used to the shouting and slamming of doors. Okay, maybe there have been one or two times when Jakes and Johnny had toughed it out but it never evolved into a full-on fight… unless you count Jakes’ last birthday and the blowout over the Bounce House, but nonetheless. It wasn’t a common occurrence so she was surprised to hear the commotion from the make-shift gym as she was coming down the stairs after her shower. As she entered the kitchen area, she spotted Paul storming out from the basement, crossing the living room area at a brisk pace before heading up the flight of stairs she had just descended from, not bothering to slow down when he almost collided into her and slamming the bedroom door shut.

Shaking her head, Charlie decided it’s best to not fixate too much on Briggs’ behavior.

When she first came to Graceland, she didn’t know what to expect about the fellow Agents sharing the house. She was given some brief notes, kind of like a basic _what you need to know_ pack about each of them, but she never knew just how complicated Briggs would be. They connected like a house on fire (probably the wrong choice of words considering what had happened to the last undercover house; The Estate), and they were soon swapping stories from their childhood and how they came about joining the Bureau. After that, Charlie pretty much knows everything about Briggs, more so than anyone else… well, maybe with the exception of Jakes who has prior knowledge of the legendary Paul Briggs.

It was by the Agents sharing life stories over a beer and watching how each individual performs during a case that you cane really tell how they handle things, and what they’re preferred course of action would be to get the desired result needed. Charlie’s experienced enough to know how Briggs can be when he’s stressed out because of a case, but she learnt the hard way that it’s always best to give him some extra space in order to sort things out in his head. If he wants to talk about things, then he’ll come find her and they’ll talk it all through. Briggs kind of reminds Charlie of a skittery deer in that sense; having to be extra careful so as not to spook him into running away.

_He’s probably going to lock himself away for a few hours and meditate until he’s calmed down enough to be round us_ , she thought as she proceeded to potter around the kitchen, getting everything ready to cook her Great Grandmother’s famous Sauce.

As Charlie sets to tearing bits of chicken apart and chucking the pieces into the giant cooking pot, she lets her mind focus on the tasks she needs to undertake in order to make Sauce Night 2.0 a success. She had taken to calling it version 2.0 after both Mike and Briggs had to miss out on the first version, all thanks to Bello. Charlie’s knife slices through the mushrooms with force as she thinks of Bello. She will never forgive him for what he put Mike though… watching Eddie… she shakes her head. The look on Mike’s face when he returned home that night and saw the remains of the Sauce in the sink will haunt her for the rest of her life; he just looked so defeated, so…

The sound of a crash coming from the basement brought Charlie out of her thoughts as she immediately reached into the back of her jeans for the gun that she has securely tucked away in the waistband before clicking the safety off. As far as she was aware, she was currently the only person in this side of the house; Johnny was holed up in his room trying and failing to get through the mountain of paperwork he had been putting off for months, Paige was out on a case of her own so she won’t be home for at least a few more days, Paul had obviously just stormed upstairs to his room, and Jakes had taken up residence on the couch, a bowl of cereal in his hand as he catches up on the latest episode of whatever it is that Jakes like to watch. As she opens the door to the basement and peers down the stairs, the only other person who could possibly be down there is…

“MIKE!” Charlie cries out, spotting the young Agent curled up in a fetal position at the bottom of the stairs.

Rushing towards him, Charlie takes the stairs two at a time, quickly switching the safety on the gun back into the locking position and shoving it back into the waistband of her jeans before crouching down next to a semi-conscious Mike. Upon closer inspection, Charlie noticed that his skin was pale and clammy to the touch. When she reached out a hand to brush back his fringe, a small whimper passed through his chapped lips, and his body shook with noticeable and uncontrollable shivers.

“JOHNNY! JAKES!” Charlie shouted up the stairs, her voice shaking. “I NEED SOME HELP DOWN HERE!”

* * * * * * * * * *

The pain was indescribable.

From the very moment Briggs brushed past him, it felt like someone was stabbing him in the side with a number two pencil but as soon as his body hit the floor, his whole left side felt as though it had exploded in a hot blinding pain, it was hard for Mike to stay conscious. In a blink of an eye, as his head hit the polished wooden flooring of the gym, Mike just let the darkness come as his eyes finally slid shut.

As Mike started to come round, he could feel something cushioning his face and could only assume that Johnny or Jakes had placed him on one of the couches in the lounge. His assumption was confirmed the very moment he opened his eyes and saw Charlie hovering beside him, her eyes filled with worry and what Mike could only assume was a hint of fear. Taking in as deep a breath as he could manage, he started to shift his body into a seating position, ignoring Charlie’s protests as her hands reached out to push him gently back down, but instead held him in a steady, upright position as his hand immediately clamped down on his injured side.

“How are you feeling, Mike?” Charlie asked in a gentle tone as she reached behind her in order to recover a glass of water that was sitting on the coffee table and handing it to Mike who accepted it gratefully.

Mike considered his answer for a moment as he took a sip, the cool liquid soothing his throat.

He could feel Charlie’s eyes on him, watching his every move in case he passed out again.

Knowing that she was worried caused Mike’s stomach to twist uncomfortably. It has been so long since he’s had someone worry about his welfare, that he’s almost forgotten what it feels like, but as he looks into Charlie’s brown eyes, he lets out a small sigh and leans forward, with a grimace written clear on his face, to place the now empty glass of water back down on the table, licking his lips.

“Much better now, thanks.” Mike replies, his voice hoarse despite the glass of water.

It was a total lie, of course, and he doesn’t exactly understand why he’s protecting Briggs, in a way he was kind of hoping that if Charlie didn’t find out about Briggs shoving him out the way, then they wouldn’t have to endure another argument like they did over the Odin business.

“I must have pushed myself too far during that last workout… sorry.”

“That was not from working out, Mike… Johnny told me that you’ve been looking pale and shaky for the past couple of days.” Charlie announces, her left hand reaching out to tilt his chin up so that he’s looking her in the eye. “If you’re not feeling one hundred percent like your normal self, you need to tell me right now. The health of everyone in this house has to come first before anything else, even a case. We can’t send you out there with the kind of people we deal with if you’re not on top form; it could get you killed.”

“Charlie, I’m okay.” Mike insists as he leans back against the couch cushions. “I’m still out of practice from my usual exercise routine. The doctor told me to take things one step at a time, but you know me… I like to take things one step further. I’m okay, really.”

Charlie stares at Mike for a few moments, studying the look in his eyes, trying to detect whether he’s lying to her or not, but all she can see is the tiredness flooding his once bright blue orbs. After everything that happened with Bello, and Mike’s cover being blown during the prison visitation, Charlie takes a moment before nodding, accepting the fact that Mike could still be getting back into the swing of things; recovery from an injury like that isn’t going to happen overnight, but still, she can’t help but worry; in her eyes, he’s still just a kid.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” She asks, her tone lowering but Mike could hear the words perfectly.

He simply nods in reassurance. “Yeah, I’m sure. I do have some paperwork to be getting on with though, so I’m just going to spend a couple of hours doing that. If Briggs asks, can you not tell him about this, please? I don’t want to add any more stress to what he’s already dealing with.”

“I won’t tell him, but Mikey, I’m serious; if anything at all happens, talk to me. Okay?”

“Okay. Thanks, Charlie.”

He smiles warmly at her before slowly rising from the couch and heading to the sanctuary of his bedroom.

He might not want to admit it to Charlie, but he was absolutely exhausted. Maybe if he’s lucky, he could get away with taking a nap for a couple of hours before getting started on the ever-growing pile of paperwork that was awaiting his attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Another update, I hear your ask - well, here you go! I really hope that you're enjoying this story as much as we loved writing it, and I just want to let you all know that we appreciate every comment, kudo's and subscription that we get; you're all the best! Now, all I can say about going forward is hold onto your hats, we're going to be heading over some stormy water during the next few chapters! - _AnthemInMyTveit_
> 
> (If you're liking this story so far and you would like to see more from the Graceland team, leave me a comment below and tell me what you would like to see in the future; you never know, it might come to life right before your very eyes!)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to _Bri618_ for the amazing comment on the last chapter! - _AnthemInMyTveit_

After pacing his own room for close to an hour, Paul needed to get away from the house… from Mike… so without a second’s thought, he left without bringing attention to himself and headed for his own piece of heaven; the beach. Paul watched the surf come in from under the pier. The water had always managed to soothe him in some way, and as he listened to the wave’s crash onto the sand, he felt a sense of calm wash over him. He took the chance to breathe, to let his body relax. He looked down at his throbbing knuckles and sighed. He had been careless not to wear gloves. Careless to let everything get on top of him. He knew he was only human, that these things happen, but he hated that they happened to him.

“I’m an idiot.” Charlie’s voice startled him.

He turned and saw her standing there in denim shorts and a vest. Her hair was in a messy ponytail. She had no make-up on and he was glad, the past couple of weeks she had her ‘junkie’ face on and Paul hated that look on her. Charlie was so pure, he hated to see what she would look like if she were to be corrupted by it like he had so many years ago.

“That’s not true.” Paul said softly, it was so easy to forget his problems around her.

“It’s the anniversary of the fire,” Charlie whispered.

Hearing it out loud made Paul’s heart stop.

He closed his eyes and turned his head away from her, when he opened his eyes again, he was facing the water once more.

“You never talk about it,” Charlie continued.

Paul bit his lip, longing for that feeling of calm.

“I can only imagine what you’re going through…”

“No, you can’t.” Paul sighed.

“You’re right, I can’t.” Charlie moved and sat down beside him, her small hands taking his larger ones in hers. “And I know me saying that I’m here for you isn’t going to change anything, but I am… here for you, if you need me.”

“I know, and it does.” Paul says softly. “This… this time of year, I… it’s not good for me.”

“It’s understandable.” Charlie promises.

Paul just shakes his head.

“I don’t know what happened with the fire, or exactly what you’re going through…”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Paul said with a little force.

He knew that Charlie would keep pressing but he wasn’t ready to talk to her about it, especially when she had the wrong end of the stick. In truth, he hadn’t really been thinking about the fire, of course it crossed his mind every day, that he knew was natural. But the reason for his mood, the reason for his temper… that was because of what had happened before the fire. That was the burning feeling running through his veins. Yes, it was the three-year anniversary of the fire in which he lost the love of his life, and the first real friends he had made. But it was also the three-year anniversary of when his life changed. He could still feel the sting of the needle and he could still hear himself screaming out for more.

“That’s your problem, Paul. You never want to talk. You let everything boil inside of you until it’s too late.”

Charlie let go of his hand and Paul instantly missed the touch.

It really had been too long sine he let himself feel good.

“I’ll talk when I’m ready,” Paul said, shaking his head.

“Make sure that you do.” Charlie leaned down and pressed a kiss to his cheek before moving back across the sand. “I’ll catch up with you later; I have a few errands I need to run but I’m going to check on Mikey before I head out.”

“Check in on Mike?” Paul asked, frowning.

“His side is giving him grief, that’s all. Don’t worry, just try and get your head clear, okay?”

Paul just nodded, but all he could do was think about Mike.

How could he not worry?

* * * * * * * *

Paul stayed on the beach for another hour or so, just looking at the water, thinking about everything that Charlie had said. He knew she was right; that he did really need to talk to someone but he just didn’t even know where to start.

Taking his phone out, he did a quick search on when the nearest meeting was.

He hadn’t been in a while, maybe that was part of his problem… maybe Charlie was right. He just kept bottling things up and right now he was at boiling point. His knuckles were evidence of that. There was a meeting in two hours, it wasn’t too far from the house and he sighed when he realized he had some time to kill. His hands were beginning to sting and he knew he should go and clean them up before he heads out.

Picking himself up from the sand, he brushed his trousers down and followed the path that Charlie had taken moments before him and headed back to the house. Using the front door this time, he made his way in, nodding towards Jakes who was sat on the couch, completely immersed in the television until he saw movement in his peripheral vision and turned to look at Briggs.

“Yo… you okay, man?” Jakes called out.

“I’m fine.” Paul called out and he ignored whatever comment Jakes made in return.

He walked up to the bedroom area and hesitated outside of Mike’s door. He knew that he should say something, but he didn’t know _what_ to say. That was the story of his life at the moment. Walking past and going straight to his room, he grabbed the medicine box he kept by his bed and pulled out some anti-septic gel, wincing as he dabbed it on his sore knuckles. He hated that stuff. Once his hands were clean, he added a little soothing cream on top, not wanting to have made progress on a case and end up being let down by his own stupid mistakes. He changed quickly and stared at his reflection in the mirror. He couldn’t believe that he barely recognized himself. He pulled on his sunglasses and then walked back out of his bedroom and stopped outside of Mike’s room. Mike was a good person, he knew that, and he knew that all the younger man wanted to do was help. Paul had a feeling that if anyone in the house was going to be able to help him, it would be Mike.

Taking in a deep breath, he knew what he needed to do.

Mike called out ‘ _come in_ ’ pretty much as soon as Paul knocked on the door.

In a sense, Paul was kind of hoping that he would be asleep.

Was he really ready to do this?

“Hey, Mike… I wanted to apologize about earlier.” Paul started as he opened the door. Mike’s room was as neat as always, and to Paul’s trained eyes, the only thing that looked odd in the room was the man himself. He was looking pale and clammy; he really didn’t look well and Paul was instantly worried about the younger Agent. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Mike said, shrugging a little.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m fine,” Mike sighed.

Paul nodded slowly.

He wouldn’t push Mike as he knew that pushing someone into talking would only cause explosions.

“Are you busy?” Paul asked.

He wanted Mike to say yes, but when Mike shook his head, he felt a little relieved.

“That’s good. I was just wondering if you would come to a meeting with me.”

“A meeting?” Mike frowned. “Like, with the Bureau?”

“Something like that,” Paul nodded, nerves building inside of him. “Are you up for coming?”

“Sure.” Mike nodded, though he still looked confused.

Paul just hoped that once he got there, Mike wouldn’t hate him for what he was going to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh, we're heading down to the nitty-gritty now!  
> I really hope you guys are all enjoying this :)  
> Give me a shout in the comments below!  
> \- _AnthemInMyTveit_


	8. Chapter 8

For the duration of the ride to God knows where Briggs was taking them to, Mike couldn’t help but let his eyes close a little as his head rested against the cool glass of the passenger door window. The feeling of the glass felt nice against his clammy skin, it helped soothe some of the pressure that the headache from this morning had built up. Mike lets out a small groan with each bump that passes under the wheels of the four-by-four, he couldn’t help it but every time the vehicle juddered over the bumps, Mike could feel his side twinge and his stomach started to knot. He knew that he was going to be sick, it just all came down to a question of _where_.

“Mike, you okay?” Briggs asked, looking away from the road to his protégé and back again.

Mike tried to say that he was fine, but the words came out as more of a low groan and he was quick to bring his hand up to his mouth as the urge to throw up what little he ate for breakfast came over him while his other hand motioned for Paul to pull over.

“Whoa, hang on.” Briggs said, checking his mirror before pulling the Jeep over to the side of the road.

Mike didn’t waste a single second in trying to open the passenger door and get out of the vehicle - he only just managed it before the first round of heaves came to him, causing him to double over as a pain shot right through his gut. Briggs was by his side in a second, steadying him in place as his body continued to shake with the force of his heaves, his breathing coming out labored.

After several minutes, Mike finally took in a proper breath and straightened up, although somewhat gingerly.

“Are you okay, Mike?” Briggs asks again, though the answer seems obvious.

Mike simply nodded, taking another moment to take in another breath.

“Yeah… I think that yogurt pot earlier was a little past its expiration date.”

“Are you sure it’s just to do with something you ate?”

“Yeah, of course. I was feeling fine before I ate it… there’s no other reason.”

Briggs looked skeptical but he didn’t press the matter further.

Charlie had told Briggs that Mike’s side was giving him grief, which isn’t all that surprising after what he had gone through with Bello in the County Prison not two weeks beforehand, actually he’s surprised that he’s already going for morning runs; the kid should still be laid up in bed or on the couch, but like anyone in the house, Briggs has grown to know that Mike can be stubborn when he wants to be and his resilience is unmatched. Besides, Briggs would know if he was lying to him. After spending so much time together since Mike had arrived at Graceland, and working on the Bello case with him, Briggs has become somewhat of an expert when it came down to picking up on a couple of his tells.

Still, the shakes that were coursing through Mike’s body greatly concerned Paul.

“Are you sure that you’re okay?” Briggs asks one more time, his voice serious.

“Yeah. Shall we go?” Mike answers, brushing Briggs off and turning back towards the Jeep.

Every step was torture. The pain in his side had increased due to his little throwing up incident, and he was feeling the cool temperature more than ever as he adjusted his jacket a little more firmly around his waist. Even after he managed to climb back into the passenger seat, he refused to move his arm away from his side. The little pressure he was putting on it felt good and it helped ease some of the soreness. Mike can’t help but curse Bello for making him feel like this, if only the guards had grabbed him before he could beat the crap out of Mike, then he would have been back at Graceland and recovering on the couch with plenty of water and ice cream, which Charlie would no doubt be supplying him.

As Briggs starts the engine back up again, Mike’s stomach twists and he closes his eyes once more.

Mike must have dozed off because the next thing he knows, the Jeep is rolling to a complete stop and Briggs is gently shaking him awake, quietly informing him that they have arrived at their destination. As Mike slowly rubbed the tiredness from his eyes, the only thought going through his mind was; _if only I could just fall asleep on the ride back home_ …

When he finally sits up in his seat, Mike can’t help but send Briggs a confused look as he gazes up at the building in front of them, his eyes scanning across the sign which indicated that a Narcotics Anonymous meeting was being held today, and judging from the time written underneath it, the meeting was due to start any minute now. Before he could say anything, Briggs was already making his way out of the vehicle and quickly came around the front of the Jeep and to the passenger door, opening it up in one swift motion before motioning for Mike to jump out and follow him.

“Come on, there’s something you should know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The countdown is on; there's only 13 more days until Christmas!  
> Have any of you lovely readers got your tree and decorations up?  
> \- _AnthemInMyTveit_


	9. Chapter 9

Paul can feel Mike’s eyes on him the whole way through the first half of the meeting.

The leader – a blonde woman with a troubled past – is speaking words of motivation and comfort that Paul remembers when he was once one of the people hanging onto her every word. Of course, once he believed he was recovered, he realized how stupid the words actually were. It worried him now that he found himself desperately craving each word. He needed to hear that it would be okay, he needed to hear that it’s okay to have bad days and intense urges. He just wished that he could actually believe the words he was hearing.

When it comes to the sharing segment of the meeting, Paul doesn’t volunteer to speak first, he tells himself it’s because he wants Mike to see the different types of people that attend these meetings. First up is a Doctor, a good person. She talks about her stressful work environment and how losing patients is the worst feeling in the world. She had fallen down the stairs and broke her leg and she quickly became addicted to painkillers which then led to something more. She was six months cold turkey and every day she craved a fix. Paul looked over to Mike as she spoke, and saw that he had a mixed expression on his face and for once, Paul found him completely unreadable.

Once she finished speaking, Paul took a breath and stood up.

“Briggs?” Mike frowned, confused once again.

“Just listen.” Paul said quietly to him before making his way to the podium.

Paul hadn’t shared his story with the group for a long time, as it was something he both hated and needed or maybe he just hated that he needed it so much, but yet, here he is, preparing to tell his story in front of Mike… sweet, innocent Mike Warren.

“It’s been a while.” Paul started, rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes scanning across the small group of people before they landed on the one person he was hoping wouldn’t hate him after what he hears tonight. “My name’s Paul, and I’m a Heroin addict.”

He clenched his fists against the stand.

“I never wanted to do Heroin. I was forced into it. I found myself in the wrong crowd and when I tried to leave… I was taken and was being forced to inject the poison into my system for just over two consecutive weeks. The people who took me, they left me craving for more. I lost everything the very moment that needle pierced my skin. But I knew that there was one person in my life who would help me, who would do anything to help me get through this. However… when I finally managed to make my way back to her… it was too late, she was dead.”

The words cut deep like it was the first time he said it, the pain was so raw in his chest.

“For a year, I used. I did things that I’m never going to forgive myself for. But then slowly, I got my life back together. Lisa… she never would have forgiven me for letting my life go to shit. So, I cleaned up. I found a program and went back to work, and I thought I got myself together again. I even made some new friends.” Paul whispered the last sentence. “More people who care about me, and who I care so much about in return.”

He closed his eyes, realizing now that speaking about this to Mike and a crowd of strangers, was making him feel better.

“It’s coming up to three years since I did my first shot of Heroin… since I lost her. Lately, I’ve been craving it again, but the scary part is that there isn’t any trigger for it. My work… my whole life has always come with stress, it’s just something I’m used to. It’s never been easy but it’s been livable. I keep trying to pin point what’s making me feel like this, what’s making my emotions go from normal to angry, to sitting up at night wondering what the hell I’m doing. My friends, my family, they keep asking me if I’m okay and truthfully, I’m usually the one that’s always okay, but right now… I’m trying to figure out a way to tell them that no, I’m not okay.”

Paul ran his tongue across his lips, his mouth suddenly dry with nerves.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, I don’t know exactly what’s going on in my head but I know that one little needle could fix it all. But I know I can’t do that, so I’m a constant wreck, but I’m trying…” Paul’s voice almost broke as he said the last part, and he looked over at Mike whose blue eyes were so much brighter, it was as though he was trying not to cry. “I’m _always_ trying, and I’ll never stop trying. I promise.”

Paul bowed his head and moved away from the podium, the room filling with applause but he couldn’t hear it over the loud thumping of his heart. He walked through the crowd and out of the door. He was suddenly scared, and nervous, about what Mike had to say, so all he could do was rush outside the meeting hall and over to his Jeep, his head resting against the door as he tried to calm his racing breaths.

“Paul.” Mike’s voice was loud to him, though it was probably in his imagination. “It’s going to be okay.”

“It… it is?” Paul frowned as he slowly turned his head to look at him.

“Yeah. We’ll figure it out.” Mike nodded and he sounded so confident, Paul found himself believing him. “Come on, let’s go and get something to eat before we head back home. We can talk about everything over some Mexican. How does that sound?”

“That sounds great,” Paul said in a relieved breath.

He knew that Mike was going to have questions, just like he also knew that Mike would think it over and over in his head for a long time and double-check everything Paul did with his work, but Paul didn’t care about that right now, he was just glad to have it off his chest. They both got back in the car, and Paul started to drive, the weight of the world finally lifted off his shoulders.

The car filled with a comfortable silence as they both pondered with their own thoughts.

They were almost at the Diner when Mike doubled over in his seat, holding tightly to his side and whimpering in pain.

Paul wasted no time in pulling the Jeep over and before the vehicle even came to a complete stop, Mike was opening the passenger door and stumbling out a few steps before throwing up on the sidewalk, his body hunched over. Paul jumped out of his own seat and rushed over to Mike’s side, holding onto him and rubbing soothing circles on his back as the younger Agent continues to empty the contents of his mostly empty stomach. Without missing a beat, Paul adjusts his grip on Mike and reaches a hand up to feel his forehead.

“You’re burning up,” Paul confirms, a frown darkening his features.

“I don’t feel so good,” Mike mumbled, his voice weak.

“I’m taking you to the hospital,” Paul said gently.

“No… I’m okay.” Mike protested but as he went to move, his body fell weak.

If it wasn’t for Paul’s quick hands, then he would have landed flat on his face.

“Whoa, I’ve got you… I’m taking you to the hospital, end of discussion.” Paul said, his voice calm and controlled.

As another shudder ripples through Mike’s body, Paul all but picks him up and takes him back over to the parked Jeep.

One he was sure that Mike wasn’t going to throw up or pass out, Paul slides back into the driver’s seat and proceeds to drive as fast as he could to the nearest Emergency Room, praying in his head that Mike would be okay. He _needed_ Mike to be okay.


	10. Chapter 10

The Emergency Room was a buzz of activity. There was a handful of over-worked and underpaid doctors and nurses rushing round the waiting area, collecting various pieces of information from patients before jotting notes down on their clipboards. Behind them, running riot around the chairs, was a party of six-year olds, a couple of them were crying and clinging onto their stressed-out looking parents but the others were causing general mayhem, ignoring the shouts of the adults. Mike felt sorry for them, and if he was feeling in any way shape or form like his normal self then he probably would have offered to watch the kids for a little while, if anything to let the parents go find a decent cup of coffee.

When they reached the front desk, Mike was practically being held upright by Briggs.

Mike watched out of his peripheral vision as Briggs reached into one of his jacket pockets in order to pull out his FBI badge. From the attitude of the oblivious receptionist, Mike could tell that he was getting ready to flash it at her, or do something he would most likely regret the next morning. Mike’s body saved Briggs the trouble of declaring himself as FBI because it was at that precise moment which Mike suddenly felt himself slip a little out of Briggs’ hold as he doubled over once more, pain flaring within him as he heaved. This action caused several of the surrounding nurses to rush over and lead them away from the crowd that were waiting to be seen and into his own private examination room.

Once the nurse had taken down Mike’s information, she told him that a doctor will be in to see him shortly before turning to leave both himself and Briggs in the small room. As another wave of nausea hits, Mike shakily lay back on the bed, favoring his right side, his hand clenching the sheets in his fist as he scrunches his eyes shut, his body rocking slightly in a back and forth gesture in order to distract his mind from the pain and sickness that he was feeling. Briggs on the other hand was nervously pacing back and forth, his eyes never leaving the young Agent.

After a few moments, the doctor finally enters the room, the nurses’ notes held firmly on the clipboard that she had used to gather Mike’s medical history, his eyes scanning across the page before he acknowledges them with a greeting.

“I sincerely hope you’re not planning on making a habit out of these visits, Agent Warren?”

His words sound sympathetic enough, but Mike couldn’t help but groan as he sat back up.

“No, Sir.” Mike says weakly, a small grimace crossing his expression.

The doctor places Mike’s notes down on the small table beside the bed before taking a pair of latex gloves from the box above the sink. He takes his time putting them on as he glances over at Mike. As the seconds pass, Mike was starting to feel uncomfortable under the doctor’s scrutiny. Briggs was making him nervous as well, his constant pacing was starting to make him feel dizzy, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell him to go and wait back out in the waiting room. He doubts Briggs would listen to his order anyway, especially while he’s trying not to pass out from the pain.

“Okay, first things first, I’m going to need you to remove your t-shirt, and Agent Briggs, if you wouldn’t mind stepping outside, I would like to do an examination of Agent Warren.” The doctor instructs calmly, taking practices steps towards the bed.

Briggs doesn’t move, he remains frozen in place by the door, shaking his head.

“With all due respect, doc, I’m not leaving Agent Warren in here, alone.”

“I understand your concern, Agent Briggs, but in order for me to…”

Briggs takes a step forward and Mike can see that he’s about to go off on a tangent, so he quickly intervenes.

“It’s okay, Doctor Thomas, I actually would like Agent Briggs to stay, if that’s alright with you.”

“Very well.” Doctor Thomas nods after a moment’s hesitation, turning his back on Briggs and concentrating solely on Mike. “I would like you to tell me how you’ve been feeling since the last check up, and I want you to be one hundred percent honest with me. It’s important.”

Mike looks over at Briggs, he could feel the older Agent’s eyes wandering carefully down his chest as he removed the light blue t-shirt, and he was suddenly regretting giving him permission to stay in the room during his examination. He felt a strong need to apologize for what he’s about to say, but the words felt thick in his throat. Briggs seemed to know what his eyes were asking as he gives him a nod to indicate that it’s okay, so he takes in as deep a breath as he can manage without warranting another pain shooting through his side, and tells the doctor everything from when he was originally discharged (against medical advice, he reluctantly admits), to Bello’s attack in the prison visitation room to feeling sick and out of breath before finally admitting to being shoved and passing out in the home gym.

“You certainly have been through the wars, Agent Warren. Based on what you’ve just told me, it sounds like the main issue has developed after the confrontation in the prison visitation room; they’re not the most hygienic of places, so it’s likely that you’ve picked up an infection when you were tackled to the ground.” Doctor Thomas states, continuing to gently prod at the swollen, red skin just around the initial stab wound.

Mike holds back a pained cry as he tilts his head back, his eyes clenching shut as another wave of nausea attacks, he quickly takes in a breath before shakily letting it out again, his body swaying slightly as he reached his arm behind his back. The feeling of sickness and pain was intense but when he asked for something to help him manage it, Doctor Thomas had refused and told him that he would need to wait until he was done.

_Screw the examination_ , Mike groans to himself.

“Mike, you doing okay?” Briggs asks, his voice filled with concern as he takes another step closer to Mike.

He raises his hands in front of him, in case he needed to catch the young Agent should he start to slip from where he was sitting, and in order to keep him grounded on the uncomfortable hospital bed, Briggs placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Mike doesn’t answer his question, he just leans back into his touch and rests his head on Briggs’ chest, his breathing turning slightly shallow as the doctor pauses his examination to take in Mike’s expression; his face was pale, and under the fluorescent lights of the hospital room, in fact it almost looked translucent as the beads of sweat stand out against his flushed cheeks.

“Agent Warren, based on what you’ve told me about the original injury and the additional trauma to the area, I can confirm that my suspicions are correct; you seem to have picked up an infection. But, before we can officially declare it as an infection, I want to run a couple of tests first; blood work, x-rays and a possible MRI scan before taking a wound culture. What’s concerning me the most right now is your temperature, so until that has gone down, we’re going to keep you overnight for observation.” Doctor Thomas states, taking off his gloves and picking the clipboard back up from the bedside table and scribbling down a few notes of his own.

When he’s done with the notes, Doctor Thomas calls a nurse into the room to administer something to help Mike relax and take the edge off his continuous pain. Once the nurse finishes connecting an IV line into the back of Mike’s hand, she injects a clear liquid and Mike instantly started to feel his body relax as the medication made its way through his system. It’s a good job that Briggs was ready to catch him, as he fell back with a contented sigh, his eyes shutting momentarily as he enjoyed the feeling of the fluid running through his veins. Doctor Thomas made a note of the medication given before leaving the room, the nurse following quickly at his heels, and talking at double-speed about getting the tests sorted.

“An infection… well, that’s not exactly surprising given the circumstances. But it looks as though I’m going to be here for a while so…” Mike mumbles, shifting out of Briggs’ hold in order to lay back against the bed pillows, his eyes remaining shut. “You might as well head back home and get some rest. You’re going to be waiting around for hours otherwise, and I know that you have other places to be…”

“Yeah, nice try kid, but I’m going to be staying right here. When a member of this family is sick, we’re all going to be right beside them, helping them through as best as we can. Saying that, I am going to have to step outside for a moment to let the others know what’s going on. Are you going to be alright in here on your own for a few minutes?” Briggs asks cautiously.

Mike doesn’t say anything, but he slowly nods his head.

_Family_ … Mike thinks as a small smile graces his features, _that’s something I could get used to_.


	11. Chapter 11

Paul sat listening to the hums of the hospital machines, the grey walls hurting his eyes and the broken whimpers of his friend breaking his heart. The only comforting thing was the sound of the heart monitor. The constant beep of Mike’s heart was the only thing Paul could hold on to. The Graceland family had come and gone, but Paul couldn’t leave. He felt almost a sense a duty in which he had to be there for Mike… that he had to protect him. Deep down, he knew that this was all his fault, and that killed him inside, but then that thought only made him feel selfish.

“You’re still here,” Mike’s voice was croaky as he turned his head just enough to see Paul sat beside him.

The antibiotics the doctor had the nurse administer had pretty much knocked him out for two days straight. The doctor had assured Paul that this was the best thing for Mike right now, as his body needed time to heal and fight against the infection and fever he was currently struggling with.

“Where else would I be?” Paul asked, he was trying to keep his voice light but even he could hear the worry and strain that was lacing his tone.

“Oh, I don’t know, catching a wave… working on a case… spending time with Charlie…”

“Well, no such luck there, kid. I’m staying right here with you.” Paul smiled as he reached over and gave his hand a gentle pat before leaving his hand covering the younger man’s, just relishing the fact that Mike’s hand moved and pressed into his.

“It’s okay, Paul.” Mike promised. “I feel better.”

“You look better too,” Paul smiled. “Still a little pale, but…”

“According to Tuturro, I’m always pale; it doesn’t matter how long I’ve been here.” Mike said with a sheepish grin.

Paul just smiled back; this was the old Mike, the one who laughed and joked, and was too innocent and pure to be corrupted by Graceland.

“He’s right,” Paul hummed.

They sat in a comfortable silence, both just thinking about everything and nothing.

Every time they looked at each other, they would see the other one smiling. Paul wanted to hold onto that smile, he wanted Mike to be safe and he knew what that meant. He didn’t need to like it, but he knew that the only way for Mike to be safe was by being in DC. Maybe Paul didn’t really want him to leave, in fact he knew he didn’t, but as Mike twisted a little to get into a comfortable position and winced at the simple movement, holding onto Paul’s arm tightly to steady himself, Paul knew exactly what he needed to do; he needed to get Mike to leave Graceland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Woah, we're half way there  
> Woah, livin' on a prayer  
> Take my hand, we'll make it I swear  
> Woah, livin' on a prayer..."
> 
> We've made it to the halfway marker, guys - now here is where it gets REALLY interesting! I know this chapter is one of the shortest ones, but there are just eleven more chapters to go, and to say thank you all for reading, commenting, bookmarking and Kudo-ing so far, in a rare turn of events, I shall be posting another chapter tomorrow! I hope you're all loving this as much as I am & hopefully, I should also have one or two Aaron Tveit fictions up (possibly more into the new year) so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for them!
> 
> For now though, stay happy and healthy :) - _AnthemInMyTveit_


	12. Chapter 12

“Hey, Mike-ay! You ready to go home?” Johnny calls, stepping into Mike’s hospital room.

Mike winces slightly at the volume, but he nods nonetheless.

Even though Doctor Thomas had said that the infection had reached a more manageable level, enough for Mike to be able to recover at home, his head was pounding and the slightest little sound that his ears picked up on was magnified. Still, he would be more than able to shake it off when he’s back home, relaxing and snuggling up in his own bed.

“You know, I agree with what Charlie said about you letting us know if you’re not feeling well, because it is a valid point when you’re doing field work.” Johnny points out as he picks up Mike’s jacket from the back of the chair Briggs had pretty much called his own whilst he was taking up sentry beside Mike’s hospital bed. “Next time one of us asks you if you’re feeling okay, you might want to tell us the truth, you hear me?”

“Yeah, JT, I hear you.” Mike sighs, heading slowly for the door. “It won’t happen again.”

“Damn straight it won’t; Charlie’s gonna mother-hen your ass until you’re clear to work again.”

Mike inwardly groans at Johnny’s statement.

He knows that Charlie means well, but he doesn’t want her to worry about him. The person she should be focusing her attention on is Briggs. He made a brave move letting Mike in on his secret by taking him to the meeting the night he was admitted into the ER, but Mike still isn’t sure why he told him… yeah, he wants to know what’s going on in Briggs’ head, especially when he’s out there doing his job which a lot people rely on him to keep them safe, but there has to be something more to it.

As Mike and Johnny stop off at the hospital pharmacy to pick up Mike’s prescription of antibiotics which will allow him to finish the treatment at home, he feels Johnny’s eyes watching him carefully, but he simply shrugs it off. If Johnny asks, he can just put his mood down to tiredness, it’s not that much of a stretch from the truth and it’s a lot easier to explain than his worry over Briggs.

A nurse calls Mike’s name and he gives her a small smile as he accepts the white paper bag which is then taken from him by Johnny.

Mike raises a questioning eyebrow in his direction.

“You’re not allowed to carry anything until you’re given the all clear,” he explains.

“I don’t think they meant I couldn’t carry a _paper bag_ , Johnny.”

“I’m not taking any chances, besides Charlie would kick my ass if I let you… paper bag or not.”

Mike can’t help but grin at the image of the small woman beating the crap out of the tall Mexican, and it was enough to make him chuckle and for Johnny to give him a knowing glare as they made their way out of the hospital entrance and across the parking lot to Johnny’s waiting vehicle.

“Laugh it up, Levi; you’ve got two full weeks of Mama Charlie to deal with,” Johnny quips.

Mike sobered up at his words and visibly gulped.

_This isn’t going to be fun_ …


	13. Chapter 13

Paul had been busy the day Mike came home. He had wanted to be there to make sure he didn’t over do anything, though he knew that Charlie wouldn’t let that happen. He had everything lined up, he was going to protect Mike and get him back to the FBI within the month. He couldn’t bare it if anything else was to happen to him while he was on Briggs’ watch.

“Where have you been, man?” Johnny asked as he walked into the house.

It was late and he was surprised that the younger man was even awake right now.

“Around.” Paul sighed.

He couldn’t tell anyone his plan, he knew that no one would understand. They all adored Mike, even Paige who had been distant with him since the original stabbing incident at Bello’s safe house. They would all hate him for sending him back to the FBI.

They wouldn’t understand that this was something he _needed_ to do.

“What do you mean, ‘around’?” Johnny tutted, shaking his head.

Paul just glared at him until Johnny held his hands up in the air and shook his head.

“Alright, alright… keep your secrets, but we could have done with your help earlier.”

“Why? What happened?” Paul asked.

Charlie hadn’t called him to say anything had happened.

“Mikey was just being Mike, you know?” He sighed. “He pushed himself a little too much, and as we finally arrived back home, he insisted that he could walk on his own and conquer the flight of stairs up to the front door, and…”

“What happened?” Paul repeated, glaring at Johnny.

Why the hell hadn’t Charlie told him anything?

“He got part way up the stairs and fell flat on his face… dude, chill, he’s absolutely fine now, well… as much as he can be after being treated for an infection, discharged from hospital and falling down the stairs.” Johnny states. “If you cared so much, then you should have been there.”

“I care…”

Paul could feel himself getting angry now. How dare Johnny say that he didn’t care?! Paul shook his head and moved forward so he could walk away from the younger Agent; if he continued talking how he was, then he would surely lose his patience.

“Like Hell,” Johnny scoffed, and he instantly regretted it when he saw the look on Paul’s face. “I didn’t…”

“Leave me alone, Johnny. You don’t know anything.” Paul said and took his cue to continue up to his room.

His fists clenching and unclenching at his sides, he moved around his bedroom, pacing as he tried to brush off what Johnny had said - the younger Agent knew nothing of what he was doing or how he felt about the Mike situation. He cared too much, that was his problem.

Paul decided to take a quick shower, letting the cold-water wash over him and take him from his thoughts. Once he was in sweatpants and a sweater, he made his way towards Mike’s room, because of course the kid was too stubborn to stay on the couch where he wouldn’t have to climb a flight of stairs. He knocked on the door lightly, but he didn’t hear a response so he pushed it open gently. Mike was fast asleep, and Paul was glad to see that there was a little more colour in his cheeks. Smiling softly, Paul watches him for a moment before frowning at the sight of a dark bruise.

_That must have been where he lost his balance_ …

Johnny hadn’t said that he had actually gained another injury when he had fallen.

Paul let out a long sigh.

They hadn’t told him that Mike was hurt.

Did they really think that he didn’t care?

He had spent so much of his time at the hospital by Mike’s side, it hurt that they would think that he didn’t care what happened to him, but then again, he had been missing in action today when Mike really needed him, and he hadn’t told anyone where he was going, not even Charlie.

Did Mike think he didn’t care?

Did Mike wonder where he had gone?

He imagined the young man to be curious; he always wanted to know what everyone was up to. 

Paul wondered how much of that had been his general curiosity and excitement to the new assignment, and how much of that was him having to report back to Headquarters. It made him a little bitter to think that maybe the relationships he had been building within Graceland had all been under a false pretense. Paul didn’t really want to believe it. Mike had been through so much with Paul for it just to be a cover.

Slowly, Mike twisted a little in bed.

Paul closed the door and left before he woke up; he didn’t want to disturb him. Instead, he walked back to his own bedroom and sat on his bed, grabbing one of his cell phones, he checked through some messages and was pleased to see that his deal with in motion. He had put some feelers through his contacts that he was looking for a hit and he knew that there were some big fish swimming around in the area wanting to get a payday.

Without warning, the door to his bedroom creaked open and Paul was surprised to see Mike standing there.

“Hey, kid.” Paul said, putting his phone down before walking over to him.

Mike looked better than he did before, but he could still see the pain in his face.

“What are you doing up? Having trouble sleeping?”

“It’s too quiet,” Mike sighed.

“Missing the beeps of the hospital machines already, huh?” Paul smiled.

He could relate to that; he couldn’t sleep in silence either.

“Do you want to come in and sit down?” Paul asked when he saw Mike leaning against the door frame.

“Sure.” Mike shrugged, slowly walking forward.

Paul moved some of the books from his bed and Mike sat gingerly on the edge.

“How are you feeling? Any pain?” Paul asked softly.

“A little,” Mike nodded.

“I see you’ve got a nice shiner there,” Paul smirked, pointing towards his face.

“Just another bruise for the record books,” Mike said with a smile.

Paul rolled his eyes; he wouldn’t be letting Mike get any more bruises.

“Where have you been?” Mike asked as he moved so that he was laying back on the bed.

Paul guessed that he must be on some strong painkillers for him to be so relaxed like this.

“Just out working on a case.”

“Need any help?” Mike asked, his head resting on the pillow.

Paul smiled, that was typical Mike; always thinking about others when he was the one hurting.

“Thanks, but not yet, Mikey. You just focus on resting and getting better, okay?” Paul said, giving his leg a little pat.

“Well, if you need me…”

“I know.” Paul nods, before changing the topic. “Do you want to sleep in here?”

“I couldn’t impose, and I’m not tired.” Mike said, but he yawned as he did so.

Paul simply chuckled and moved the chair he was sitting in closer to the bed, putting his legs up on the mattress beside Mike, watching as the younger Agent shifted into a comfortable position, his eyes finally closing as sleep starts taking hold.

“Thank you,” Mike mumbled.

“For what?” Paul asked with a frown.

“Everything,” Mike whispered before he fell asleep.

Paul just smiled and went back to his phone, putting the finishing touches to his plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, fellow Gracelanders / Tveitertots - I have recently set up a new Tumblr and Twitter page, so if you're interested and want to follow / chat with me, then please don't hesitate to get in touch; I'm always up for connecting with fellow Aaron fans (seriously, I'm in desperate need of some friends who understand the amazing-ness that is Mr Aaron Kyle Tveit!) Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I look forward to talking with you :)
> 
>  **Tumblr:** https://antheminmytveit.tumblr.com/  
>  **Twitter:** https://twitter.com/EarthToLottie
> 
> \- _AnthemInMyTveit_


	14. Chapter 14

When Mike wakes up, for the briefest of moments he was unsure where he was. He was certainly not back in the hospital, and the décor that he could make out most definitely didn’t belong to him and it certainly didn’t belong in a hospital. It takes a few seconds but once the cloud of sleep lifted, Mike blinked his crystal blue eyes and took a proper look round the room, instantly spotting Briggs sleeping peacefully in the chair next to the bed. Suddenly the talk from last night entered his mind and he let a soft smile fall across his lips.

Struggling into a sitting position, Mike moves slowly, inching closer and closer to the edge of the bed, all the while his left arm remained clamped to his side. The pain that was there last night, had faded slightly but there was still a twinge of uncomfortable-ness every time he took in a deep breath. Mike was just about to stand up when the door to Briggs’ room opens and Charlie pokes her head in.

Upon seeing Mike, he motions with her head to follow her, to which he responds with a nod.

In other circumstances, Mike might have felt embarrassed to have one his roommates catch him just as he was about to sneak out of his Training Officer’s bedroom, but right now he couldn’t care less. He had more pressing matters on his mind, like the pain in his side as he steadies himself before gingerly tip-toeing towards the bedroom door. It was only as Mike reaches the door that he turns back round, suddenly hearing the gentle buzz of a cell phone coming from the bedside table; Briggs’ cell phone. Mike bites down on his lip, the temptation to creep back over and answer it is strong, but he doesn’t dare. He might be curious, but he’s not the invasion of privacy type; unless it comes to his own cases.

Shaking his head, Mike steps into the hallway and quietly closes the door behind him.

As Mike lets out a long sigh, he takes a moment to look round the deserted hallway.

Mike takes note of the silence that rings through his ears, and the way his eyes pick up on the dim lighting that illuminates the walls which made him wonder just how early it was. Glancing down at his wrist, he lights the dial on his watch and frowns, seeing the bold numbers reading: **6:00**.

_What is Charlie doing up so early?_

Mike contemplates whether to take a quick shower before going downstairs, but decides to wait until after breakfast, not knowing whether he could manage the task just yet. As he walks down the hallway, he passes Paige’s room and for the briefest of moments, he debates whether or not to knock to see if she’s awake but the idea went as soon as it came. Things between the two of them have been a little rocky as of late, though Mike understands why Paige is suddenly acting cold towards him.

Another sigh escapes through his lips as he reaches the stairs, and the sigh is soon replaced with a groan.

The only thought that runs through his mind as she starts his descent is; _why do we have so many stairs in this place?_

With each step, Mike takes a second to breathe, not wanting to aggravate his side further by going too quick or even breathing too hard.

_I really need to start running again… and soon._

He reaches the bottom and turns towards the kitchen, hearing Charlie humming softly to herself.

“Hey,” he greets softly as he steps in, a small smile on his face.

“Hey, I was beginning to think you weren’t coming down for breakfast. Did you sleep okay?” Charlie asked, an eyebrow raised as she reaches into the fridge for a bottle of water before she passes it to Mike along with a small white pill. “It’s time for you to take your next dose of antibiotics.”

Mike hesitates for a few seconds before nodding.

“Yeah, I slept okay. You?” He asks, moving over to the breakfast bar and slowly takes a seat.

“Mmhmm,” she hums softly, not giving Mike a real answer.

Shrugging, Mike takes the bottle of water and the little white pill from Charlie and downs them both in one swift gulp. All the while, Mike could feel Charlie’s eyes watching him before she nods, satisfied, and takes the bottle back from him, and placing it in the recycling bin.

“I’m making pancakes, do you want some?” She asks, getting the mix out of the cupboard.

_No_ , Mike wants to say but he knew better than to turn down food, especially when Charlie’s around.

“Sure…” Mike answers, his voice trailing off as he contemplates his next question, but before he could think any more of it, he finds himself blurting out, “How did you know that I was in Paul’s room?”

Charlie pauses in her task to glance up at him before continuing.

“I went to check on you before I went to sleep last night but you weren’t in your room, so I did a quick search of the house. I thought you might have fallen asleep on the couch again, but you didn’t.” Charlie shrugs, though her eyes were glinting with a teasing look. “You two looked a little too snug up there, I didn’t want to disturb you and make you shuffle back to your own room.”

“It’s not what you think. I just went in there to talk to him when I couldn’t sleep, and I ended up crashing on his bed,” Mike explains. “It was actually kind of relaxing… y’know, talking to him about everything…”

“But?” Charlie asks, turning the stove top on in order to start making the pancakes.

“I don’t know… before I crashed, he mentioned something about working on a case, but as far as I’m aware he doesn’t have any active cases right now, old or new. Has he said anything to you about a new one? Or even about a new lead in an old case that he’s chasing?”

“No, and even if he did, I’m not going to tell you.” Charlie says in a serious tone.

Mike opens his mouth to protest but one look from Charlie, and his mouth is closed.

“I get that you’re itching for a new case to work on after busting Bello, what with all the adrenaline it probably caused but you need to take things slow for a while, Levi; you’ve almost died on us twice already, and I’m not going to let you put yourself in the path of danger until you’re better. So, sorry, Mikey, but no case talks for you, old or new.” Charlie orders, an affectionate look in her eyes as she looks up at him.

“Charlie, I understand that, believe me, I do… but I can’t help this feeling in my gut. Briggs is working on something he doesn’t want anyone else to know about, and I know what you’re going to say; it’s normal for Paul not to reveal his emotions, or secrets, or whatever but you can’t stand there and tell me you haven’t noticed him acting a little odd lately. Can you? I mean, seriously, does he seem like his normal self to you?”

He rests his head in his palm as he props his elbow up on the breakfast counter.

Charlie is quest for a moment, her lips pursed.

Mike could see something flicker across her expression but it was gone as soon as he blinked.

“Charlie?” Mike presses, needing her to answer.

“I don’t know, Mike.” Charlie finally says, her voice low.

“You must know something… you know him better than anyone.”

Charlie closes her eyes for a second, her hands frantically moving to finish preparing breakfast.

Mike hates grilling Charlie about Briggs, he knows that they’ve had their issues in the past and for the most part, they get on like a house on fire; he can see why they were attracted to each other, but if there was a time to ask questions about Briggs’ plans or cases, it was now. He would never be able to get a straight answer out of her if Johnny, Jakes or Paige were standing in the room as well. Now was the only chance he had to finally get some answers and settle his already over-active mind.

“Charlie…” Mike says gently, reaching over to place his hand on hers, stilling her movements.

Charlie lets out a sigh and just opened her mouth to respond when heavy footsteps sound on the stairs.

_Briggs_ …

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the last chapter before Christmas... to all my readers who are celebrating the holiday and to those of you who are not, I wish you all a fantastic day wherever you are and however you end up spending the day! For now though, I leave you with this chapter and the promise to post another on Boxing Day :) - _AnthemInMyTveit_


	15. Chapter 15

Paul walked downstairs to see Charlie and Mike talking. As soon as they saw him, it went quiet and Paul knew that they were talking about him. He didn’t mind. They were both suspicious by nature, it was why they were both so brilliant at their jobs. Sometimes he wished they would trust him, but he supposed he hadn’t really given them much of a reason to have complete trust in him in the past. Hopefully, once this was all done, they could see that he just had everyone’s best intentions at heart.

“What’s going on?” Paul asked, reaching forward and taking a banana from the fruit bowl.

“Nothing, where are you going?” Charlie asked him in return.

“I have a few errands to run,” Paul sighed. “How are you feeling, Mike?”

“Better,” Mike nodded.

“Really? Because you still look like crap,” Paul smirks.

“Thanks,” Mike chuckles.

“Anytime.” Paul winked, pouring himself some coffee in one of the travel mugs.

“Do you fancy some company?” Charlie asked.

Paul shook his head.

“No, that’s okay. It’s just running some information between a couple of informants,” Paul said, giving away as little as he could get away with giving without causing more suspicion before he hastily adds, “I’ll be back in time for dinner though.”

“Are you going to be cooking tonight?” Mike asked.

“Sure,” Paul smiled.

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Charlie snorts, shaking her head.

Mike just rolled his eyes, looking up at him.

“How about after dinner, we all have a family night and watch some movies?” Paul suggested.

He loved the expression that fell across Mike’s face.

“Yeah, that sounds awesome,” Mike smiled brightly.

Charlie nodded her head in agreement along with Mike.

Smiling, Paul moved across the kitchen and over to Charlie to press a kiss on her forehead before he moved around the counter towards Mike and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze as he passed and murmured, “I won’t be long. Call me if you need anything.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Paul drove towards town with the radio on, he liked music; it cleared his mind.

He had set up the deal, now all he needed now was to add the bait. Which meant very carefully having certain people spot him around dealers. It was risky, he knew he was putting a lot of cases the house was working in jeopardy but he hoped they would understand why he was doing this.

It took him a few hours around town talking to different groups about setting up the deal. He would at some point need to arrange for the group known as the ‘Silencers’ to get wind of the deal that was about to go down. The Silencers were on the FBI’s **Most Wanted** list; they were rising up the Cartel ladder and they honestly scared Paul more than anything he had come across before – including Jangles. That was why he couldn’t tell Charlie his plan, he knew that she would be furious with him if she ever found out.

Paul was just about to head home when he heard a noise behind him.

He turned slowly, gulping when he saw a group of thugs walking towards him. He knew exactly who they were. Years ago, he had busted a group called the Serpents, a low-level group of drug dealers that were pushing their poison onto young children as they made their way into school. Now, it looked like the group were back and trying to make a name for themselves once again.

“Look who it is.” The leader of the group smirked as they moved forward.

“Now, now, boys… let’s not do anything you’ll regret.” Paul said, holding his hands up in front of him.

A quick glance told him that he was definitely outnumbered, though he knew that if he were to take them on one-by-one, he would probably be able to have a better chance of winning, but with all of them against him, he knew he was done for.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

“I’m getting worried,” Mike said from his position on the couch.

He and Charlie had spent the majority of the day going through some of Charlie’s built-up paperwork, but Mike didn’t mind helping her as in all honesty, it was a great distraction from his thoughts and it was also a way to ease back into work, without actually going into the field.

“Paul should be back home by now.”

“I know. I’ve tried calling him but he’s not picking up,” Charlie sighed, looking up at the clock. She had been doing this for the past hour, hoping that she didn’t worry Mike but now when she looked over at the young Agent, she could see just how worried he was about the eldest Agent.

“We should have asked more questions this morning. I mean, we don’t even know where he went in the first place and we have no idea where to start looking for him.” Mike said, sitting up a little straighter, trying not to wince at the movement. “Do you think we should call…”

Just as Mike was about to suggest calling Johnny or Jakes, the front door opened and Paul staggered into the hallway.

“Oh my God,” Charlie gasps.

Mike follows her gaze and stands up as quickly as he could when he saw the state in which Paul was in.

“What the _hell_ happened to you?!”

“I’m fine,” Paul said, waving a hand at them as they rushed over.

Charlie was by his side in seconds and started to help him as best she could.

“Mike, I’m fine. Please, sit back down so you don’t hurt yourself even more.”

“Who did this to you?” Charlie asked, helping him towards the couch.

Paul was glad to be able to sit down and Mike moved to sit beside him, his eyes full of concern.

“Paul…”

“I’m fine. Honestly, I just let them get a few kicks in to distract them; the cops were on the next corner and came over straight away when they heard the commotion,” Paul explained, shaking his head and leaning back against the couch cushions.

“Take off your shirt and let me see…” Charlie starts, tugging at the material.

“Please, Chuckie, I’m fine. Really. I just want to have family night.”

“It’s just the three of us,” Mike said, looking at Charlie. “We’ll do family night another time.”

“No… just us three is fine,” Paul sighed.

“I’ll go and make us something to eat,” Charlie said, shooting Mike a look.

Sighing, Paul shrugged out of his leather jacket and let his head fall back against the cushions once more. His body screamed in pain at the movement but he tried to push it away before he turned his head towards Mike and smiled softly, hoping to reassure him.

He hated how the kid looked so worried.

“I’m okay, I promise,” Paul whispered, reaching forward and rubbing his thumb against Mike’s cheek. “How’re you doing?”

“I’m fine, it’s you I’m worried about,” Mike admitted honestly.

Paul didn’t miss the way Mike leaned into his touch.

“I’m okay, really, it was just some punks trying to prove a point,” Paul explained.

Mike just looked at him, not sure if he believed the older Agent or not.

After a moment, Charlie came over with some sandwiches, sitting on the opposite side of the couch, she draped her legs against the chair and rested her head against Paul’s shoulder as she murmurs, “I wish you would let me take a look…”

“Tomorrow,” Paul said softly, taking a sandwich off the plate and began to eat slowly.

At some point, Mike switched the television set on and an old movie started playing, distracting the three of them from everything that they had been thinking about. Paul liked sitting there, in the middle of the two people he cared about the most in the world. He shivered as he felt Charlie’s breath tickle his neck and he turned and smiled at her softly. He moved a little, letting her fall against him more and she smiled contently, careful to mind any injuries he might have gained in the supposed punk ambush.

Paul then turned to Mike who was propped up against the cushions, he still had a worried look on his face and Paul reached out, taking hold of his hand and squeezing it, silently telling him that he was okay and that all of this would be okay. He didn’t imagine the way Mike squeezed back, he simply laid back against the couch cushions and enjoyed the warmth that both of them brought to him and closed his eyes, despite the pain that was currently building inside of him, sleep coming easy to him as the film continued to play on screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good Afternoon, Gracelanders!
> 
> I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas yesterday and that you're enjoying some well earnt downtime today with your family and friends. As promised, I bring you another update for _Poison_ and we still have quite a few chapters to go so there's that to look forward to. Also, during my time off work, I shall be continuing to work on a couple of different stories which are slightly more Aaron-centric than his character fics; it's something that I've never really written before and have been toying around with the idea for a while now, so if you would like to give it a read, then let me know in the comments below and I'll try and get the first chapter done and posted soon :)
> 
> As always, my lovely readers, let me know what you think of this so far and remember, Stay Happy and Healthy! - _AnthemInMyTveit_


	16. Chapter 16

Mike couldn’t sleep.

He tried to concentrate on the old movie that was playing in the background, he really did, but the mere thought of Paul being attacked by a group of punks was weighing heavily on his mind. Mike knew that over-thinking things would be a bad move on his part but he couldn’t help it. Something just wasn’t sitting right with him about what Paul had told him and Charlie earlier at breakfast.

What kind of errands did Paul have to run that he didn’t want Charlie to accompany him, but would also have caused him to be jumped by some low-life gang of kids? Nothing was making any sense to Mike’s racing mind. He could feel the headache stirring at the back of his mind.

_Where did you go, Paul?_ Mike asked himself as he looked over at the sleeping Agent.

As far as Mike was aware, Paul had no active cases, his last open one was officially ruled as inactive when one of the head kingpins of a group he was chasing turned up dead on the FBI doorstep and the rival gang leader who had done the deed had been found beaten to a bloody pulp down at the Pier. It’s possible that he could have been assigned a new case, but Mike thought that was highly unlikely. After everything they put Mike through during his investigation into Briggs, he knew that they weren’t overly keen on the idea of Paul working on cases, at least not until they could fully put their minds to rest that he wasn’t trying to pull a fast one over the department; how much more evidence do they need to reassure them that Paul isn’t one of the bad guys? Apparently, Mike’s findings meant nothing to them.

_Do they really think I’ve fallen under Briggs’ influence and power?_

Shaking his head, and giving up on the entire idea of sleeping, he began to move slowly from his position on the couch, trying his best not to disturb Paul or Charlie, who was tangled up in Paul’s embrace, and made his way towards the stairs, his footsteps light as he headed towards the phone room. If he can just find out what happened to Paul, then he might be able to figure out what he’s been working on and why he’s been so secretive and distant lately. Maybe then Mike would understand.

Mike jumps awake at the sound of footsteps coming up the staircase. He must have fallen asleep at some point during the night, looking at the watch strapped to his wrist, he’s surprised to see that it’s just gone nine AM. He had missed breakfast. As he straightens up in his seat, the door to the phone room opens and he sees that it’s Charlie popping her head round the door.

“Hey, Mikey, what’cha doing?” Charlie asked, taking a step into the room, closing the door behind her.

“Hey, Charlie. I’m just going through some of the traffic footage to try and work out where Paul went yesterday. If I’m lucky, I might be able to find out who attacked him.” Mike explained, holding back a yawn as he leans back in his seat. “One of these cameras must have caught something.”

“Smart man,” Charlie teased, her arm resting around his shoulders. “Have you been here all night?”

Mike hums in response as he rests his head against Charlie.

It wasn’t unusual for Mike to be like this with Charlie, ever since he took his first steps into the Graceland house, Charlie has been the one person who has looked out for him, she’s the only one who has given him guidance, she’s the one who listens to his crazy plans and goes along with them, believing that Mike is actually onto something and she’s the only one who has looked out for him when he’s gotten himself into a spot of trouble.

To Mike she was like a Mother, a sister and a best friend all wrapped into one tiny little Latino package.

“You should get some sleep, Mikey.” Charlie says softly, running a hand through his hair.

“I will once I’m done,” Mike says, leaning into Charlie’s touch.

“You’ll make yourself sick again if you keep pushing yourself too far, you do know that, right?”

“Yeah, but I need to know what happened. I can’t explain it, but something just doesn’t seem right.”

Charlie doesn’t say anything, but Mike knows that she’s feeling the same way.

She was assigned to Graceland shortly after Paul, and she is one of only two Agents who have seen him at both his worst and his best, Jakes being the other Agent. When something doesn’t seem right, Charlie is the first person to hop onto the trail and follow it until she gets the answers she’s looking for. It’s one of the many reasons why Mike admires and respects her so much.

Mike was about to say something to her when the computer screen in front of him stops on one grainy image of a group of kids that were all dressed in black, Paul’s orange Jeep visible in the distance as he heads towards it. Mike sits up straighter, jostling Charlie’s arm off his shoulder in the process. He mumbles a quick “sorry” before zooming in on the image, taking note of the time and area. Once the image was clear enough, Mike paused and stared at the screen, not quite believing what he was seeing.

“Is that who I think it is?” Mike asked, turning the screen so that Charlie could get a better look.

“I don’t believe it…” Charlie whispered after a moment, her eyebrows furrowed with worry.

“What’s Paul doing with the Serpents?” Mike asks, his eyes never leaving Charlie’s face.

Charlie doesn’t say anything; her eyes are too focused on the image in front of her.

“Charlie?” Mike asks softly, placing his hand over hers, squeezing it gently.

Charlie shakes her head and pushes back her chair, making a move to stand but stopping when Mike stands up beside her, pulling her towards him. She accepts his embrace and wraps her arms around his waist, being careful not to squeeze too hard in case she aggravated his own injury.

“Hey, it’s okay…” Mike soothes, running a hand through her hair as he gently rocks them both.

“No…” Charlie whispers, her fingers grasping tightly onto Mike’s shirt.

“Charlie, it’s going to be okay.”

Charlie shakes her head again.

“You don’t get it, Mike. It was Paul who caught the Serpents the last time they were active. If they’ve reformed and they’ve seen him hanging around their territory, things are only starting to kick off. They’re not going to stop until they’ve got hold of him.” Charlie explains, her voice shaking. “If they manage to find him again, he’s not going to be able to walk away from them in one piece…”

Mike could feel Charlie’s body trembling as she lets the tears fall from her eyes.

“Hey, we’re not going to let that happen.” Mike says, his voice full of determination. “I promise.”

Mike knew it was stupid to promise such a thing, but he also knew that he wasn’t going to let Paul get himself killed.

He still doesn’t know why he was in the Serpent territory in the first place, but if he was there for a reason, then Mike knew it wasn’t going to be a good one. They’re a formidable group, known for their drug dealings with young children, so if they were making a new play in their old hunting ground, he didn’t want Briggs caught up in it, especially not with his own history with narcotics.

_What the hell are you playing at, Briggs?_


	17. Chapter 17

Paul woke up with an ache in his neck and he groaned when he realized, he had passed out on the couch. He hated the empty space beside him and wondered where Mike and Charlie had gotten to. The pain started to creep back in and he knew he probably should have gotten them to take him to the ER last night. He knew what bruised ribs felt like and this was definitely worse. Slowly, he stood up and walked towards the breakfast bar, he could hear the faint sounds of chatter and he knew that Charlie and Mike were probably talking about him.

On his way to the kitchen area, he was surprised to see that it was almost four in the afternoon.

How long had he been asleep for?

He rubbed his eyes a little, he felt as though sleep hadn’t even come to him. Stumbling forward, he saw Mike leaning against the counter while Charlie and Paige cooked. He straightened up as best as he could - he didn’t want Paige or the rest of the house to know what he was up to and he definitely didn’t want them to find out about his little run in with the Serpents - and stepped into the kitchen.

“What the hell happened to you?” Paige asked the second she saw him.

Paul just waved a hand dismissively in her direction and sat down on one of the bar stools.

“Paul. What…”

“I’m fine.” He replied through gritted teeth and looked at the food on the stove. “Smells good.”

“We should have taken you to the ER, baby.” Charlie said, moving around the counter to him. “Your face is really swollen.”

“It’s fine; nothing some warm water won’t cure.” Paul lied, his face ached as much as his body did.

“Paulie, cut the bullshit.” Charlie snapped, and Paul looked down at his chaffed hands, he hated it when Charlie got angry with him. “We’re going to hold a family meeting right now and you are going to tell us exactly what you’re up to and who really attacked you.”

“Like hell I am,” Paul growled as he stood back up and used his right arm to steady himself. “Just stay out of my business, Chuckie. I’m not up to anything other than working a case, which last time I checked is our job, and yeah, I may have had a run-in with some Serpents, but I wasn’t out looking for them, I wasn’t looking to get into a fight, and I certainly wasn’t…”

“What were you doing on the East Side?” Mike asked.

Paul could feel the anger rising inside of him.

“You tracked me?” Paul asked in disbelief. “You don’t trust me enough to do anything?”

“You’re not giving us a reason _to_ trust you.” Charlie said, and her words cut deep into Paul’s heart.

He thought they were over this, he thought he had managed to re-build everything between them but he guessed he was wrong.

Silently, Paul turned his head and grabbed his car keys off the table before walking out of the house.

His body was shaking with a mixture of anger and heartache and all he wanted to do was scream. He had half-expected someone to follow him out, not to see if he was okay but because they didn’t trust him to go anywhere without a tail. Driving forward he had no set idea of where he actually wanted to go. Everything for his plan was in place, all he needed was to get Mike to catch wind of the deal going down, which was easy enough. Paul just needed to wait for the time and place of the deal to be agreed and get Mike there to witness it. But for now, all he wanted to do was escape. He was sick of his teammates not trusting him. Okay, he knew that he was hiding something from them, he knew that he wasn’t being honest with them, but he wasn’t doing anything bad. He was just doing his job, so why couldn’t they just leave him to do it?

Driving towards the highway, Paul turned on the radio as loud as he could and tried to block out all of the thoughts that were going through his mind. He drove for hours, eventually slowing down when he realized that there was no one following him, not that he believed anyone would. Paul turned off at a rest stop and got out, stretching his legs and pacing along the car park. He was just ready for everything to be done with. He wanted the deal to happen right now and he wanted Mike gone. Everyone trusted him just fine before he came along, and the thought of that alone stung him deep. Mike wasn’t a bad guy, and Paul didn’t want him gone for reasons like that. He just wanted him to get where he deserved and have always dreamed of being in the FBI because Mike really was a good man, and an even better Agent that his talents allowed to be in Graceland.

Paul’s phone started to vibrate in his pocket and he pulled it out quickly, hoping it would be one of the buyers so that the deal would be done today. No such luck, it was Mike. Frustrated, Paul rejected the call. He really didn’t want to talk to him right now. Instead, he put it back in his pocket and walked into the small Diner attached to the rest stop. It was empty except for the waitress. When she looked up at him, Paul could tell she was feeling a mixture of relief that she finally had something to do, and worry that the way Paul looked was going to bring trouble for her.

“Can I get a coffee, please?” Paul asked, walking up to her.

“It looks like you need a Doctor.” She commented a little hesitantly as she put the coffee on.

“You sound like my friend.” Paul said, rolling his eyes as he turned to slip into one of the booths.

Paul stared out of the window and didn’t hear her reply, he just shrugged it off.

He spent a few minutes sitting there before the coffee was in front of him. He said a quick “ _thank you_ ” to the waitress and stirred the hot liquid a little. Paul must have lost himself in his thoughts because the next thing he knew, the bell above the coffee shop door rang out and someone slowly slid into the same booth. It was Mike.

“Are you leaving?”

There was something in his voice; something young, innocent and scared.

Paul looked up at him; the kid looked genuinely worried and Paul instantly felt guilty about it.

“I’m not leaving, Mike.” Paul sighed. “I just needed some space.”

“We’re… I’m… we’re just worried.” Mike mumbled, looking down. “With everything that went down…”

“You guys don’t trust me. Believe me, I know.”

“We just want you to be able to talk to us. We’re supposed to be a team, Paul. We’re supposed to be able to help each other when we’re going through something, we’re not supposed to sneak around and dodge questions about case loads when your team are genuinely concerned.”

“When the time comes, Mike.” Paul said honestly. “But until then, you just need to wait.”

“Wait for what?” Mike asked, frowning.

“When you need to know, you’ll know.” Paul promised him.

Mike just rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

“Fine.” Mike sighed quietly. “Then I guess I’m waiting here too.”

“Waiting for what?”

“Waiting for that time to come.” Mike said easily, and ordered his cup of coffee, staring at Paul.

Paul sighed, but he couldn’t deny that he felt warmer inside just knowing that Mike had followed him.

That must mean something…


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everyone!!  
> I hope this year turns out great for you all :)  
> \- _AnthemInMyTveit_

“You’re not giving us a reason _to_ trust you.” Charlie said.

As soon as the words left her mouth, the occupants of the kitchen went completely silent.

Mike couldn’t believe that Charlie had actually said that to Paul… yes, he’s been acting like the world’s biggest asshole lately but to say that he hasn’t given any of them a reason to trust him… Mike can see her point, but he’s not stupid enough to actually say it out loud, not until he knows for sure what’s going through Paul’s mind. He was sure he was about to find out though.

When Paul grabbed hold of his car keys instead of responding to Charlie, Mike was worried.

There was no way that Paul was just going to let her words go over his head, was there?

Paul loves Charlie to death, everyone in the house knows this, but he doesn’t let himself take her crap, it’s one of the reasons why their relationship has lasted so long, because they actually communicate their feelings to each other and what Charlie just said… Mike can’t imagine how much that would have hurt Paul to hear. When he hears the front door slam shut, he has a pretty good idea.

“Wow, Charlie…” Paige says, turning back to the vegetables she was chopping for dinner.

“What?” Charlie asks, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s not like you weren’t thinking it.”

“Yeah, I was thinking it, but you didn’t have to make is sound so harsh.”

“I think you could have handled it better, given the circumstances…” Mike starts, but he cuts himself off short when he notices the look that Charlie was giving him and he lifts his hands up in defence. “I’m just saying.”

“He needed to hear it.” Charlie simply says as she turns her attention back to the Sauce.

Mike looks between the two female Agents and shakes his head, not understanding how they could just turn their attention back to menial tasks when a loose cannon has just left the household. As much as he understands that Charlie’s words may have hurt Briggs, he’s uncomfortable letting him go anywhere by himself, especially given the circumstance with the Serpents the night before.

“I’m going to make sure he’s not going to get into any trouble.”

Mike straightens up gingerly as he rests his hand against his side, turning his focus on locating the keys to his own vehicle before looking back up at the two women, neither of them seeming to notice that he had moved away from the breakfast bar. He cleared his throat and asks:

“Could one of you track him with the cameras and let me know where he stops?”

“I’m cooking Sauce, Mike… it can’t cook itself.” Charlie sniffs, not looking at him.

“Paige?” Mike asks, turning to the young blonde.

She looks at Charlie before putting down her knife.

“Sure, why not.”

Paige follows Mike out into the hallway and tells him to keep his phone on speaker, just in case Paul takes an unknown route. She was mostly wanting him to keep on the line with her for his own safety. Ever since the incident where he lost his balance on the front stairs to Graceland, she’s been worried that he’s pushing himself too far which is a typical Mike Warren move.

Mike may have reassured her that he’s fine to drive, but she still wasn’t convinced.

“Paige, I’ll be fine.” He sighs, shrugging on his blue hoodie.

She always liked it when he wore blue… it made his eyes shine even brighter.

Shaking her head at the thought, she stood up on tip-toes and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Just, be careful… especially around Paul.” She said, giving him a knowing look.

Mike furrowed his brows in confusion as he waves goodbye.

It didn’t take long for Paige to locate Paul’s whereabouts, and once Mike had the location set on his GPS, he disconnected the call with Paige and started to make his way to the coffee shop on the other side of town; he didn’t get very far. Once Mike had reached his destination and had parked his car next to Paul’s Jeep, he hopped out and entered the dingy looking building, immediately spotting Paul.

As he slides into the booth opposite him, Mike takes a moment to _really_ look at Paul.

Although his words seemed to mean nothing to Paul, Mike could see that he was anxious. Having suffered from ADD as a kid, Mike knew the signs of nervousness and he didn’t miss the way that Paul’s hands couldn’t keep still around his coffee cup, they were ever moving and it was making Mike feel nervous too. He doesn’t like not knowing what’s going on and as much as he wants to give Paul the benefit of the doubt, he can’t help but trust Charlie’s judgement on this one. Mike was confused by Paul’s words, and every time he opened his mouth, that sinking feeling he had in his stomach just grew even bigger. Something very wrong is going to happen, Mike could feel it, or perhaps it was just the stitches splitting, either way something doesn’t feel right. Still, he’s not going to show Paul any weakness, whatever happens, he’s going to be ready.

_Please just let this bad feeling be wrong_ … Mike thinks desperately as he sips at his coffee.


	19. Chapter 19

Paul and Mike sit alone in the coffee shop, Mike drinking his coffee slowly but Paul knows that his eyes never leave his. Paul doesn’t even want to know how long they sit there. It feels like hours but it could have just been mere minutes. The silence is disturbed by the buzzing of the cell phone on the table, they both turn their eyes to it and Paul snatches it from the table quickly and stares at it before bringing it up to his ear.

“Yeah?” He answers, his voice rough.

Mike knows that he’s in an undercover persona; he just wishes he knew which one.

“Tonight. Nine o’clock. The Pier.” Paul’s responses are short and clippy, and he doesn’t even wait for anything to be said back to him, he just puts the phone back down on the table and looks towards Mike. “Well, it looks as though it’s time.”

“You’re going to tell me what you’ve been planning now?” Mike asks, his eyes wide.

Paul nods slowly as he says, “We need to talk and drive otherwise we won’t be there in time.”

Paul drops a twenty-dollar bill on the table and walks out of the coffee shop.

Mike has no choice but to follow him.

When he gets outside, he sees Paul standing with the hood of his Jeep open, and he also doesn’t miss the way that he snatches up a bulletproof vest before throwing it in Mike’s general direction, who barely manages to catch it without doing himself another injury.

“Put that on.” Paul instructs, checking the safety of his gun.

“Paul, why have you…”

“I’ll tell you everything, but first you need to put that on,” Paul replies calmly.

When Mike struggles with his hoodie, Paul helps him whilst taking the time to check that his stitches were still intact, once satisfied that they were still together and healing, Paul is reminded why this plan is so important… why he needs to get Mike out of this house before he gets hurt even more. After securing the bulletproof vest on Mike, Paul helps him put his hoodie back on and smiles softly.

“Come on.”

He opens the door for Mike and watches him slide in.

“Are you going to tell me now?” Mike asks.

Paul just rolls his eyes.

He knows the kid is curious, but he can’t help but be reminded of a child pestering his parents.

“Okay. I suppose now is as good a time as any. So… as you know I’ve been working on something, and while I know how hard the outcome will be, I need you to remember that I’m doing this for everyone at Graceland.” Paul starts, before taking a deep breath and delving into his explanation. “I’ve managed to set up a deal with one of the FBI’s Most Wanted; the Silencers, and I did it so that you can take the bastards down.”

“Wait… what do you mean?” Mike frowns.

“I… seeing you in so much pain, and after seeing you at the hospital…” Paul pauses and keeps his eyes trained on the road in front of them. “Because of me and what I did… it was killing me inside, Mike. It’s just like if you end up staying in the house, it will end up corrupting and killing you before you even reach your thirtieth birthday, and I can’t have that on my conscience.”

“Paul…”

“So, I came up with this idea. I know a guy who is looking to sell a large amount of pure cocaine for a big price. A price I know one of the Cartel will buy without breaking a sweat. All it took was me getting them together and arranging a time and place to meet.”

“And when they’re together, you want me to just go in and bust them?” Mike asks, trying to keep up but he’s got so many questions swimming through his mind he wishes he had some painkillers with him to numb his throbbing head.

“Yeah, and when you finally manage to take them down and they’re safe behind bars, the big shots at Headquarters will see just how great you are at your job and they’ll offer you any position you want within the Bureau. You don’t deserve to be stuck in such a dangerous position.”

“What if I don’t want any other position?” Mike snaps. “Did you ever think about that?”

“You want to be the Director of the FBI. It’s all you’ve been talking about becoming ever since you arrived,” Paul clarifies.

Why was Mike so pissed?

Paul was just doing what Mike needed… no, what he _wanted_.

“Yeah, and I want to get there because of my own hard work, Paul, not because you’ve arranged for it to happen!”

“What difference does it make?” Paul sighed. “This way, you’ll finally be safe.”

Mike just sat and glared out of the window. He was so pissed off that this is what Briggs had been doing… what he had been planning… he was pissed that Briggs wanted him gone. He was a grown man, he could take care of himself. Why couldn’t Paul respect that? Charlie and Paige had both been hurt numerous times during their period at Graceland, and Paul wasn’t shipping them away, wrapping them in bubble wrap.

So, why the hell was he doing it to him?

“I know you’re angry, Mike, but I need you in on this,” Paul said.

He really hadn’t expected Mike to respond like this.

“Fine.” Mike said, shaking his head. “But I’m bringing Charlie and the rest of the house in on this.”

“Like hell you are,” Paul snarled back.

“Briggs, if these guys are half as dangerous as you say they are, then we’re going to need as much back-up help as we can get; Johnny can at least get the S.W.A.T team on standby, just in case things take a turn for the worse,” Mike stated.

Before Paul could snatch the phone away from him, possibly tossing it out the window where it could smash into a tiny million pieces, Mike was dialling Charlie’s number and she had already answered on the second ring before Mike was filling her in on everything. Paul just glared as he continued driving, hoping that their interference wouldn’t cause any disruption to his plan.

“So, what is your overall plan?” Mike asked as he pulled up a block away from the Pier.

Since the phone call he made to Charlie, Paul had been scarily quiet and Mike knew that he had done something to cause him to act like it. He just didn’t know what else to do or feel in this situation, they needed back-up, and whether Paul liked it or not, Charlie was the next best thing.

“I’m going to be meeting up with the leader of the Cartel first, and then I’ll take him to where the deal is going to take place; it’s at the top of the Pier, so it’s going to be in a public space. Neither one of them are interested in turning this into a bloodbath, they just want to make the deal and go on their way, once that’s done, you’ll grab him on the way back to the car.”

“That sounds good in theory, but there are a lot of factors that could go wrong,” Mike said.

He was nervous; Paul could tell by the twitching of his fingers.

“It will be fine,” Paul said with confidence.

Mike just nodded.

He really wished he believed him.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

By half eight, everyone was in position.

Paul turned to Mike and smiled softly.

“Remember, take him down at the car, that’s the best way to ensure no innocent blood shed.”

“Okay,” Mike said, he was feeling so anxious about this plan.

He had this horrible feeling in his gut. It was like he knew something was going to go wrong. He knew that Charlie was probably feeling the same way. Especially given how she had left the conversation with Paul. When Mike had phoned her, she had asked to speak to Paul but he had refused. Mike hated how hurt Paul was over the comment Charlie had made, and now he knew that he really didn’t deserve it.

“They do bug checks, so I’m going in blind.” Paul said as he unbuckled his seat belt.

That sentence made Mike’s heart clench tightly in his chest.

“He’ll be walking back in this direction within half an hour.”

With that, Paul walked away.

Mike just knew that something was going to happen and he knew it wasn’t going to be good.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Paul stood at the Pier, his hands in his pockets as he looked out at the ocean. Turning his head a little, he saw Paige and Johnny kissing on one of the benches, and Paul just rolled his eyes. There was something a little comforting about having them close by.

“You’re early.”

Paul turned his head to the guy who was setting up the buy.

He was tall, and ordinary looking, which Paul knew was why he was so good at staying under the radar.

“Yeah, well, you know me, Tom. It’s better to be early than late, especially when we’re meeting up with the kind of people we’re going to be dealing with tonight.” Paul said, eyeing the bag he was holding in his right hand. “Is it all there?”

“Yeah,” Tom nodded.

Paul knew better than to expect that to be his real name.

Again, Tom was something so simple and inconspicuous.

“Do you think they’ll show? They arranged this all kinda last minute.”

“It’s just how they operate,” Paul shrugged casually. “They’ll show.”

He rested his hands on the posts of the Pier as he cast his eyes out at the blue waves, sending out mental prayers to anyone that was listening that this would all go according to plan. Sure enough, at nine o’clock, footsteps could be heard on the Pier. Paul turned around to see a tall gentleman in a dark suit carrying a suitcase in his left hand. He knew that this was the guy from the Cartel. Just looking at him and knowing all of the violent things he had done made Paul feel sick, but he knew that getting him taken down was the best thing to do.

Even if his motive wasn’t strictly just to get him off the streets.

“Is this the guy?” He asked, looking from Paul to Tom.

“Sure is,” Paul said, nodding his head.

“Do you have it?”

“It’s right here.” Tom said, he had a nervous tilt in his voice.

Paul knew that he hadn’t dealt with anything like this before, and he almost felt a little bad for him… almost.

“Do you have my money?”

“I want to see the goods first.” He declared, clicking his tongue at the ignorance Tom was showing him.

Paul took the bag from Tom and handed it over to the Cartel boss. He watched as he opened it before looking over at Tom with a look that was hard to read. He doubted that Tom would pull anything, but he couldn’t be too sure, and he couldn’t allow himself to relax just yet.

“This looks promising,” the Cartel boss finally nodded.

“So, can I get my money?” Tom asked, rocking on his feet a little.

“All you care about is money,” the man said, shaking his head. “You do realise there is more to life, don’t you?”

Paul just shook his head when Tom opened his mouth.

“Look, a deal is a deal…”

“And I intend to honour it.” The man smirked before pushing the briefcase over towards them.

After that, Paul had no idea what had happened. As soon as Tom had the briefcase in his hands, all that could be heard was the sound of gunfire and the buzzing Pier erupted into a chaotic mess; people were scrambling everywhere

“What the hell is happening?” Paul shouted.

Paige and Johnny were there with guns drawn and Paul looked at them with wide eyes.

“The Cartel.” Johnny said, pressing down on his ear piece. “Mike spotted them moving to the Pier with guns.”

“The fuck!” Paul shouted, looking at the boss.

“You’re a Fed.” He spat.

Tom looked at him, confused.

The gunfire was getting louder now and Paul wished he had more back-up. From what he could see, they were just firing at the sky, they weren’t aiming at anyone in particular. They just wanted the Pier to be deserted which was happening at a rapid pace. As the Cartel drew near, Paul looked towards Johnny and Paige, and gulped, even with the rest of the Graceland team here, until the cops arrived, they were still outnumbered.

Paul turned his attention back to the leader of the Cartel.

“We can still make the deal; just take the drugs and go.”

“And have you arrest me for possession, Fed?” He smirked. “I don’t think so. This will end one way.”

He raised his own gun and pointed it at Paul’s chest.

“Tell your little friends to leave. No one else needs to die.”

“Guys… go.” Paul said, holding up his hands.

“No way, not gonna happen.” Johnny said, shaking his head.

“Goddamn it, Johnny. Go!” Paul shouted.

Paige and Johnny exchanged looks with each other before backing away, slowly.

Paul knew that they wouldn’t be far; he could already hear the sirens and he knew that it wouldn’t be long until this was all over.

“You…”

“Stop talking.” He said, waving the gun around.

Paul just stood, frozen to the spot.

This wasn’t how this was supposed to turn out.

“I don’t want any trouble. Take the drugs and the money, just let me go…” Tom pleaded from beside Paul.

“You are a coward.” The Cartel leader growled. “But today, being a coward will save your life. Run.”

At that, Tom rushed away, leaving Paul standing before the Cartel on his own.

As the cops arrived, the rest of the Cartel drew closer.

“Let me kill the Fed, then we’ll go.” The man growled.

He walked closer to Paul.

“Do you have any last words?”

Before Paul could even contemplate saying anything, a gunshot rang out and the man fell to the floor.

The sound of more gunshots reached Paul's ears and he looked round. He could just about make out Mike behind the group of Cartel members, along with the rest of the house and the standby S.W.A.T team as they approached, guns drawn. There was another short round of gunfire which sounded closer to Paul than before. During this round he suddenly felt a ripping sensation through his stomach.

Paul stumbled back along the Pier, and as a final shot rang out, his body collided with the railings.

A faint groan passed through his lips as he tumbled over the edge. His throat felt too constricted to make any louder sound. But as his body was falling closer to the water, he managed to catch Mike's gaze, his features losing all color as he watched with horror as his mentor fall. Paul wanted to call out to him but before he knew what was happening, the waves crashed over his body and brought him down into the watery depths of the darkness below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh, we're very nearly at the end of this story, literally there's only three more chapters remaining... but I'm curious, what do you think is going to happen next? How are you all enjoying this so far? Is there anything you would like to see in future works? & More importantly, how is 2019 treating you so far? Don't be shy to leave me a comment below, I love interacting with you all! - _AnthemInMyTveit_


	20. Chapter 20

Mike doesn’t know exactly at what point Paul’s plan had started to break down.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion.

One moment he was leaning against Paul’s Jeep, his eyes narrowed slightly in order to get a better view of the scene playing out in front of him, and then the next thing he knows, a group of guys from the Cartel are making their way towards the Pier where their leader is making the deal, guns in hand, and they start firing off rounds. Everything was chaos. Then Paul disappeared over the edge of the Pier.

At first, Mike wasn’t sure that what he was seeing was real, but upon hearing the shouts, he froze.

“PAUL!” Charlie calls out, running towards the side of the Pier.

“BRIGGS!” Johnny shouts at the same time as Charlie, lowering his weapon enough for him to reach up to the walkie talkie strapped to his shoulder, calling the incident into base camp and orders them to issue out a medical unit to their position right away.

Mike, on the other hand, his feet were moving a hundred times faster than his brain.

Before he could stop and think about what he was doing, he was launching himself towards the edge of the Pier, shoving his own gun into the hands of a passing S.W.A.T member before diving head first into the water. Just before he broke through the surface, he could hear Charlie calling out for him to stop, but it was already too late, as he went under the weight of the bulletproof vest was pulling him further down into the deep, dark depths of the ocean beneath them.

_I should have taken it off_ , Mike thought as his eyes desperately scan the water.

The moonlight that had managed to break through he surface was giving Mike very limited visibility as he swam further towards the floor of the ocean. He could feel his lungs starting to burn with every second that passes. He needed oxygen, but he couldn’t waste time in going back up, he needed to find Paul. He needed to make sure that he was still alive. He needed to…

Mike’s vision started to go black round the edges, but he shook his head.

_No, I need to stay conscious… I have to find Briggs_ …

With the pain in his lungs intensifying, Mike swims faster, not wasting a single second.

_Where is he?_

Mike’s head was starting to feel fuzzy the deeper he swam, but he kept going.

He needs to find Briggs. He knows that Briggs is depending on him, and that Charlie and the rest of the Graceland household were waiting on the Pier for him to re-surface with Briggs at his side. Mike knows all of this, but the pain that was running through him, was almost becoming too much to handle, any second now he’s going to need to re-surface and take in a big lungful of air before diving back down.

_How much time would that take off Paul’s chances of survival?_

Mike’s inner-thoughts asked, causing him to shudder.

He can’t afford to go back… Paul needs him.

As he moves forward, a glimpse of a shadow catches his eye, shaking him from his train of thought.

Through the murky water, Mike was struggling to make out what the shape was, but as he moved slowly forward, he let out a sigh of relief… the shape was Paul. Mike has found him. The sigh which Mike lets slip, momentarily falters him as the ocean water started to fill his mouth and lungs. Clamping his mouth shut even more, he wastes no time in grabbing hold of Paul’s arm and placing it around his shoulders, he doesn’t take any time in checking Paul’s injuries, time is precious as it is and he needs to get them both back up to the surface before they drown. Mike snakes his arm around Paul’s waist and using the full force of his leg muscles, Mike kicks them both up towards the surface. The whole process would have been a lot easier if Paul had been conscious, but as Mike steals a glance at the older Agent, his heart sank at just how lifeless the man appeared to be.

Adjusting his grip round Paul’s waist, Mike continued to struggle. His lungs and head were going to explode at any moment from the lack of oxygen, but he had to keep going. He could see the water changing from the dark navy blue to the clear crystal blue illuminated by the moonlight, and knew that in just a second, he would be out of the water and back on dry land. Focusing his attention on this thought, Mike urged himself upward, and within a moment he was breaking through the surface with Paul. The older man was unmoving and Mike felt his heart racing.

“MIKE!” Charlie called, reaching down towards the water to help him.

“C-Charlie…” Mike choked out, using the last of his strength to lift Briggs out of the water.

Two members of the S.W.A.T team were standing by and helped Charlie get Briggs out of the water, but as soon as Paul’s weight was gone from his arms, Mike felt himself sinking back under the surface, his body excruciatingly exhausted as water covered his face.

“MIKE!” Charlie shouted before another S.W.A.T member jumped in and caught hold of him.

Together with the other two members, the S.W.A.T team had not only managed to get Paul out of the water, but they had managed to lift Mike out and onto the safety of the Pier. Once he was safely on solid ground, Mike fell back against the hard wood as coughs began wracking through his body which convulsed under the force of the coughs as large amounts of water left the confines of his mouth and onto the planks beneath him.

“Mikey, you okay?” Johnny asks nervously, kneeling down beside him. “Mike?”

Mike didn’t reply, he was exhausted.

All he could do was lay flat against the Pier, his eyes closing.

“Mike! Hey, don’t close your eyes!” Johnny ordered, shaking his shoulders roughly.

Mike mumbled something unintelligible to Johnny and weakly put his hand against his chest, but he didn’t have the strength to push him away. His head was pounding, his throat was raw and his lungs felt like they were on fire. All he wanted to do was take a couple of painkillers and sleep.

“Johnny, don’t let him sleep.” Charlie ordered from her position next to Paul.

“That’s easier said than done,” Johnny tells her, as he props Mike up against his chest, shaking his shoulders again. “Mikey, come on, man… I know that you want nothing more than to sleep right now, but you have to stay awake, okay?”

“Mike?” A new voice calls, and it takes Mike a moment to realise who it is; Paige.

His eyes slowly open and he can see her kneeling beside him.

“There’s those blue eyes…” She smiles, running a hand down his cheek. “You’ve got to stay away, okay?”

Mike tries to smile back, but he couldn’t summon the energy, all he could do was lean his head against the palm of her hand and fall back more against Johnny’s chest. He could hear the sounds of the sirens approaching from the distance, but he couldn’t focus on them, he couldn’t even focus on what Paige and Johnny were saying, all he could focus on was Paul. Turning his head to the left, he saw that Charlie was trying to get him to wake up but she wasn’t having any luck, the only reassurance Mike had as he closed his eyes once more was the fact that Briggs was still alive. He was still breathing… he was still here. That thought comforted Mike as he let the world go dark around him.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The waiting was torture. Mike had been in even worse circumstances than this before; getting almost gutted by Jangles, watching a man blow his brains out, watching another man torture another… just to name a few, but waiting? Well, waiting was hell in its purest of forms.

After being checked over by the doctors, they gave Mike the all-clear to be discharged, providing that once he gets home, he rests as much as possible. The amount of water that had entered his lungs and the lack of oxygen had given them a cause of concern but Mike was adamant that he was fine and all he needed was some sleep. At first it didn’t look as though they were going to let him go, instead they were opting to keep him in overnight for observation, but it was all thanks to Paige who reassured them that she would keep a close eye on him back home.

_Thank God for little miracles_ , Mike thought as he looked over at Paige. Even though she hasn’t said anything to him while they have been sitting in the waiting room, he occasionally felt her eyes studying him, looking for any sign that she should call a doctor back over.

The ticking of the clock was slowly driving Mike to the point of wanting to reach up and slam it repeatedly against the receptionist’s desk until it no longer made a sound, but he knew that would more than likely prompt Johnny into taking him home. He didn’t miss the way Paige and Johnny looked at each other, their exchanges weird after they look to where Mike is sat. He could tell they were waiting for him to do something out of character that would allow them to pull rank over him and take him back to Graceland where he would be safe.

Taking in a deep breath, he leaned forward in his seat and rests his forehead on top of his entwined hands.

_Why does my head hurt so much?_ He asks himself, rubbing his thumbs in a circular motion over his temple.

“Mike?” Paige calls out cautiously, not knowing what’s happening to him.

“I’m fine,” Mike replies, his voice low as he clenches his eyes shut.

“You’re not looking so hot, dude…” Johnny points out, worry filling his tone as he moves to stand up.

Mike lets out a breath and tries to focus on his shoes as a brief spell of nausea washes over him.

“Johnny, go get him some water,” Paige instructs as she gets up and moves to sit beside him.

Mike couldn’t see Johnny’s expression, but he could only assume that he had nodded as the next thing he knew, he hears the sound of Johnny’s footsteps hastily walking away from the waiting area. Paige placed her hand on Mike’s back and was rubbing it soothingly; it felt nice and Mike felt himself sitting back up and leaning against her as she rests her head against his own, occasionally kissing his forehead.

Johnny returned with the water just as the doctor entered the waiting area, clipboard in hand.

“Agent Briggs’ family?” The doctor called and all of the Graceland residents rose to their feet.

“Is he okay?” Charlie asked, her voice shaking.

Out of the whole team, Charlie had not said a single word from the moment Briggs was loaded into the back of the ambulance, to now. That scared Mike more than he would care to admit, as he knew she would usually be the one running around making sure that everyone was okay, but given her history with Paul, he could see why she didn’t want to talk.

“Agent Briggs is stable. We had to take him into surgery in order to remove the bullet from his stomach, but I’m confident that he’ll make a full recovery. It goes without saying that the wound had caused him to lose a great deal of blood, so we had to give him a transfusion in order to replenish the amount lost, and I would like to keep him here until I’m satisfied he’s strong enough to go home but the worse is over.”

“Oh, thank God,” Charlie breathes in relied as she leans forward and rests her hands on her thighs before straightening up and running them hastily through her thick, raven-coloured hair. “Can we see him now?”

“At this moment in time, only one person is allowed in and only for a few minutes; he needs rest.”

“Thank you,” Mike says, shaking the doctor’s hand as Charlie makes a move for the door.

“He’s in Room 206.” The doctor calls as she disappears.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the doctor leaves them once more, allowing them time to let the news about Briggs sink in. Overall, they were all pleased that Briggs was going to make a full recovery, but Mike still couldn’t help but think that this was all his fault.

_It is your fault… Paul did all of this to get you away from Graceland… this is all down to you._

Mike tries to ignore the voice in his head, but he felt his heart sink at the truth behind the words.

Why?

That was the only question that was running through his mind… that was the only question he wants to ask Briggs. He understands that the job is tough, and getting hurt is part of the job description, so why now does Paul want Mike gone? Why couldn’t he just talk to Mike about how he was feeling? Why go through all of this just to get Mike to leave Graceland? It just didn’t make any sense to him.

Stepping through the doors to the corridor Briggs’ room was on, Mike takes a second to collect himself. He can’t show Briggs any weakness, not after what had happened tonight. He can’t let him think that he’s right, that he can’t handle the pressure of the job. He can’t let him carry on thinking that Mike is just too green to take on any real cases. Even though he had taken down Bello, there was still a part of him that made him think that Paul still saw him as the newbie; fresh out of the Academy.

Charlie came out of the room a few minutes later, a small smile on her face now that she knows Briggs is okay.

Johnny went in to see him next, then Dale who got the message five minutes after they arrived, Paige went in after him and then finally it was Mike’s turn. Bracing himself, he counts to ten before walking through the door, his eyes immediately landing on Paul. Without saying a word, he takes a seat beside the bed and waits. Paul watches him every step of the way, his dark eyes tired but fully aware of his surroundings.

Clearing his throat, he shuffles in the bed, sitting up a little straighter in order to face Mike.

“So… I hear you saved my life?” Paul starts, his voice a little hoarse.

Mike remains silent as he stares at him, unblinking.

“I guess I should say thank you,” Paul tries, his eyes finally meeting Mike’s unwavering gaze.

Still, Mike says nothing.

Paul doesn’t know what to say, this isn’t a side of Mike he has ever seen before.

Just as he opens his mouth to say something else, Mike catches him by surprise with one little sentence.

“If you really want to thank me, you can answer this question; why?” Mike asks, his voice quiet.

Paul knew that this question was coming.

“After everything that has happened, why did you feel the need to put this elaborate plan into action? Was almost getting yourself killed REALLY worth all the trouble of getting me to leave Graceland? You could have just told me how you were feeling, Briggs. So, why did you feel the need to hide all of the lies and secrets? Why couldn’t you just talk to me? I would have listened to you.”

Now it was Paul’s turn to remain quiet.

“Briggs?” Mike repeats, sitting forward in his seat, waiting.

He didn’t have to wait long.

“I’m poison, Mike!” Briggs shouts, spinning his head round to face the younger Agent.

Mike was taken aback by his reaction.

“That’s why I didn’t tell you.” Briggs says, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Briggs…” Mike starts, shaking his head.

“No, don’t you even dare say that I’m not because it’s true. I’m poison… I always have been and probably always will be. I poisoned the occupants of the Estate, and now I’m poisoning the occupants of our team… of Graceland… wherever I end up going, I just end up causing pain and getting everyone around me in trouble, hurt or even getting them killed… just take a look at what I did to you with the whole Bello / Jangles fiasco. I can’t do that to you again, Mike… I can’t. It’s killing me.”

Mike sits in a contemplative silence, taking in Paul’s words as tears well up in his own eyes.

Did Paul really think that little of himself?

Does he really still blame himself for what had happened with Bello and Jangles?

Mike shakes his head, he has to end this.

“You’re not poison, Briggs, and what happened with the Estate and the whole situation with Bello… you need to stop beating yourself up over it. You don’t need to protect me either… believe it or not, I can actually take care of myself.” Mike says, pausing for a second as he brings a hand up to his face to wipe away the tears. “Looking back on things, the incident with Bello did bring some things to my attention, and coming into Graceland, I had no idea how hard it would actually be to do this job, I didn’t know what to expect and yeah, I admit that I was more than a little scared but I was excited more than anything, and do you know why?”

Briggs shakes his head, not saying a word.

“I was excited because I was going to be under the same roof as Paul freakin’ Briggs; legend of the Bureau. I was excited that I was going to be learning everything about the job from you, and I was more than willing to push past my fears and dive straight into a case with you. I know that I lied about why I was even placed in Graceland, but after spending so much time with you on the case, and just generally getting to know you as a person instead of Paul Briggs the legend, I was glad that I hadn’t been sent to DC. Graceland and everyone in it, has become my family. I felt like I finally belonged somewhere, but if you want me to leave Graceland, like _really_ want me to, then… I’ll go.”

“What?” Briggs asks, incredulous.

“I’ll put in for a transfer first thing in the morning.” Mike answers, his tone monotonous. There was a small part of him that wanted Briggs to stop him, to tell him that he was being stupid, that he didn’t really want him to go, but looking into his eyes, Mike knew that wasn’t going to happen.

“I would really appreciate that.” Briggs says, breathing a sigh of relief.

Mike’s heart sinks at his words, and it takes all of his energy not to let the tears fall.

“Okay… so, I guess that’s all.”

“I guess so.” Briggs agrees, nodding his head slowly.

“Thanks for everything, Paul.” Mike says, getting up from his seat and heading to the door.

Briggs says nothing, he just watches him go.

As Mike steps out into the corridor, he leans against the wall, closing his eyes as he tries not to let his emotions get the better of him. How could Paul just let him walk out like that? Why did he agree so quickly about Mike leaving? Mike knows that was his initial plan, but he never thought in a million years he would actually want him to go. Mike was so preoccupied with these thoughts and in not crying that he hadn’t notices Paige was waiting for him on the other side of the door.

“You don’t really mean that, do you?” She asks softly, her voice no more than a whisper.

“I don’t really mean what?” Mike croaks, not looking at her, but he knows what she’s asking.

“You’re not really going to put in for a DC transfer, are you?”

“I…” Mike trails off, not sure what to say.

Nothing was going to make this any easier on him.

“I don’t know, Paige.”

“Mike… you belong at Graceland.” Paige says, her voice rising in confidence as she steps up beside him. “None of us want you to actually go. And before you say it, Paul doesn’t either. Whatever’s going through that thick head of his, it’s not really what he wants. You have been with us, one hundred percent since day one, and honestly? I can’t imagine the house without you.”

“Paige…” Mike starts, finally lifting his head to look at her.

“No, I’m serious. Don’t make any decisions yet, sleep on it and we’ll discuss it as a household… as a family… tomorrow. A lot has happened within the past couple of days, so please, let yourself get some rest and think things through properly before actually making a decision. Okay?”

Mike looks at Paige for a second before he feels himself nod.

“Okay.”

Paige smiles and pulls him into her arms, holding onto him tightly as she buries her face in his neck.

A single tear fell down his cheeks and he tightened his own hold on her.

_Please don’t hate me when I’m gone, P…_


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is the penultimate chapter... just one more to go... it's been one hell of a ride and I really hope that you've all enjoyed it as much as I have. The next and final chapter will be up on Thursday, but for now... enjoy! - _AnthemInMyTveit_

Paul hadn’t expected to stay in hospital for so long.

He thought a week or two at the most, but a month later and his body still wasn’t healing the way the doctors would have liked, but he couldn’t stay there any longer. So, he had discharged himself early and had Johnny pick him up from the hospital.

“Things are weird at home, bro.” Johnny said as he helped him into the car.

“What do you mean?” Paul asked, hiding the wince as he sat in the passenger seat.

When everyone had come to visit him, things had been okay. Charlie had apologized for what she had said and of course, Paul had forgiven her straight away, but maybe there was something still there. Maybe the house didn’t trust him completely, and that was why there was tension.

He rubbed his head, just thinking about it was giving him a headache.

“Well, Mike’s been back and forth from Washington…”

“He has?” Paul frowned.

“Erm, yeah…” Johnny nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he slipped into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “Meetings and things about what happened, you know? We all had to write reports and I’m sure you’ve been questioned about it too.”

“Yeah, I have.” Paul sighed.

He had been questioned a lot, but he was adamant that he was in the right with this one. He was just glad that the FBI were, for once, on his side or at least they seemed to be. Paul had done everything he could to make them see that without Mike, the whole thing would have been a complete bust. He just hoped that they believed him.

“Do you think he’ll officially go?” Paul asked.

“Well, we had a house meeting,” Johnny shrugged.

“Wait… without me?”

“Well, it was about you.” Johnny said, looking at him warily. “Not all of us agree with your decision.”

“He’s…”

“An adult, Briggs.” Johnny stated, crossing his arms over his chest. “Charlie, well, let’s just say she’s the most pissed at you. She thinks that Mike is old enough to make his own decisions, and that you had no right in doing what you did.”

“Funny, she didn’t act like that during the times she’s been visiting me,” Paul mumbled.

“Well, of course she wouldn’t not when you’re looking all hurt and acting like a victim,” Johnny explains, and Paul knew exactly what he meant; it wasn’t in Charlie’s nature to kick someone when they’re already feeling down. “But the thing is… me and Jakes, even Paige, we can see why you did what you did. We’ve all had some experience of undercover work so we knew what we were getting ourselves into, but Mike… he was too green from the beginning. We all knew that, but I guess we didn’t want to believe it.”

“So, you think he should go?” Paul was slightly surprised by this.

Mike was closest to Johnny in the house, from day one they had formed a relationship that Paul had been a little nervous about.

“I think that if he wants to go, then he should, but if he wants to stay at Graceland then I’m not going to be the one to say no to his decision. He’s done a hell of a lot of good here, and he’s had our backs whenever we’ve needed him.”

“I know he has,” Paul nods.

“So, why are you so hell bent on him leaving?” Johnny asked, curious.

“Because…” Paul paused, looking down. “Because he’s too good for the house, Johnny. He’s so pure and all we’ve done since he arrived is corrupt and hurt him. I can’t… I can’t have anyone else’s blood on my conscience. I just can’t, Tuturro.”

Johnny stayed quiet for a few minutes, thinking about everything that Paul had said. He could see where the man was coming from, but at the same time he hated how much guilt he carried around with him. He knew that there was a lot he still didn’t know about the Senior Agent, but he didn’t want to believe that Paul was responsible for all of the terrible things he had seen. He was a good man, and an even better Agent.

“I think that’s a load of crap,” Johnny said, eventually.

“Well, thanks.” Paul sighed.

“No, listen, man. You are a great Agent, we get it. You have mad experience and things have happened to you that didn’t end well. People get hurt in this line of work, you know it and I know it but that doesn’t make it all your fault. You didn’t ask Mike to join Graceland; it was assigned to him.”

“That doesn’t mean we should have let him stay. Like you said, he had no experience…”

“Hardly any of us did, Briggs, but he soon proved himself, you know that.” Johnny sighed. “What I’m trying to say is, no matter what happened to any one of us… we’re all responsible for our own actions, so you can’t always blame yourself.”

“I can if it’s my fault,” Paul decided.

“When is it your fault?”

“The whole Bello case…”

Johnny just shook his head.

To be honest, he was surprised that Paul was even willing to have this conversation with him. But he guessed that the older man didn’t really have that many people he could turn too, and this was something so raw, that he needed to get it off his chest.

“It was a crappy situation, and I think that wrong decisions were made on both yours and Mike’s part, but I don’t think either of you were to blame for getting Mike hurt. That was all down to Jangles, and following his boss’s sick vendetta against the Bureau.”

“I pushed him to go to the prison…”

“We both know that you can’t push Mike into doing anything he doesn’t want to do, as much as you want the kid to listen. He’s stubborn and arrogant, but he’s still a hell of a good Agent, and even you can’t deny that’s not true.”

“Stubborn and arrogant; sounds like you’re talking about me.” Paul laughed.

“If I am then you forgot the part where I said you’re a hell of a good Agent.” Johnny added.

Paul just looked down.

“What I’m trying to say, I guess, if that you can’t make Mike’s decisions for him.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Paul sighed.

Maybe this has all been for nothing.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Paul didn’t really know what to expect when he got home, but he knew he hadn’t expected to see a ‘ _Welcome Home_ ’ banner and everyone to be gathered on the porch. Charlie was the first to rush over to him, and then Paige. He wanted to tell them that he was fine, but he knew he needed the support to get inside. The drive back from the hospital had winded him.

“You could have done with another week or two in the hospital.” Jakes said as he sat down beside him.

“I was going crazy in there,” Paul sighed. “You know me, I like to be where the action is.”

“Well, you won’t be near any action any time soon,” Charlie laughed.

Paul just rolled his eyes.

The group spent an hour or so, catching up on what they had been up to over the month that Paul had been in the hospital, but it soon began to fizzle out and Paul had made his way over to the one place that gave him any sense of calm; the ocean.

Paul sat down against the sand and let his hands run across the warm surface.

He heard footsteps and didn’t need to look up to know that Mike had sat down beside him.

Mike had been the one person that had hardly spoken to him at the house.

It was weird, it was like every now and again he would feel him watching him but made no sign of speaking.

“I’ve made up my mind,” Mike stated simply, his own eyes staring out across the rippling surface of water.

“And?” Paul asked.

Honestly, he really didn’t know what he wanted anymore.

“I’m leaving,” Mike said quietly.

Paul felt his insides twist. It had been what he was fighting so hard for but now he had won… now that he knew Mike was leaving, he didn’t feel the sense of relief he thought he would… instead, all he felt was the thickening choke-hold of a loss, the heaviness of grief.


	22. Chapter 22

“Hey, this is an unexpected surprise!” Mike greets, smiling through the webcam.

“ _Hey, Mikey-Mike! How’s the city of monuments treating you_?” Charlie asks, smiling back at him.

“Yeah, it’s not too bad… a lot more paperwork, but what can you do?”

“ _Hey, DC was your dream, man; paperwork is a given_.” Johnny quips, raising his beer.

“Yeah, I know, but still… how are things going there? How’s the house?” Mike asks.

He’s eager to know how things have really been going for the group during the weeks since his departure.

“ _They’re okay. It’s not the same without you, Mike_.” Paul speaks up, coming into shot behind Charlie.

Mike doesn’t know what to make of his comment, considering he wanted him gone in the first place.

“ _Mike, can you still hear us_?” Charlie asks, leaning towards the camera.

“Yeah, sorry… I never thought I would find myself saying this, but I actually miss the adrenaline of being undercover and being at Graceland with you guys.” Mike admits sadly, his smile faltering as he thinks back to his time with the group of Agents.

“ _We miss you too, Mikey_.” Charlie says.

Paul and Johnny nod in agreement.

“ _Yeah, it’s kind of hard to laugh at you wiping out into the ocean without you actually being here to do it_.” Johnny point out as he reminds Mike of his many failed attempts at surfing when he first arrived in California. “ _It’s not so much fun when Paul’s out there as he hardly ever falls_.”

“Laugh it up, Tuturro.” Mike grins, silencing his phone as it starts to buzz.

“ _Is that duty calling_?” Paul asks, obviously not missing the sound.

“Yeah, but it’s okay, I have a few minutes.” Mike replies, not looking him in the eye.

“ _Are you looking after yourself out there_?” Charlie asks.

A warm feeling spreads through Mike’s chest at her words; he has missed Charlie more than anyone at Graceland, even Paige, and the way that she would always be flitting around the house making sure that everyone was okay, and letting each of them know that she was there if they needed her.

“Yeah, Charlie… I’m doing okay.” He says, his tone soft.

“ _Are you sure_?”

“I’m sure, but I actually need to go now; meeting in five minutes… catch up with you later?”

“ _Absolutely. Go knock ‘em dead in the meeting, Mike_.” Paul smiles, making a move to leave.

“ _Meetings? I’m so glad that we don’t have to go to anything like that. Just try not to fall asleep in there, okay_?” Johnny pipes up before taking a swig of his beverage and following behind Paul, his laughter never ceasing.

“Thanks, Johnny…” Mike says quietly.

“ _Hey. I mean it, Mike… we really do miss you here. If you’re not happy in DC, then come back_.”

“I wish it could be that simple, Charlie.”

“ _It is simple, Mike; you miss us, we miss you… and you miss the thrill of the chase. Once you get a feel for undercover work, it’s a little hard to go back to reality Nothing you do afterwards will give you the same adrenaline you feel when working with the bad guys_.” Charlie explains, and Mike could see that she was trying not to well up in front of him. “ _I know you feel as though you owe it to Briggs to actually stay in DC after what went down, but you’re both wrong; we need you here, Mike. You belong in Graceland, with your family_.”

“I’m sorry, Charlie… if things had turned out differently, then…”

“ _You wouldn’t have left_?” Charlie asks, cutting him off.

“I don’t know, Charlie… maybe.” Mike admits, though his stomach clenches as he thinks about it. “Making the choice to leave was difficult enough, and I can understand why Paige doesn’t want to talk to me now, but if I was to come back after leaving in the first place… it wouldn’t feel the way it did before all of this happened, and I really am grateful for you all and the memories and love you’ve given me during my time at Graceland but I think it’s too late for me to actually go back now.”

“ _Why don’t you come out in a couple of weeks’ time? It would do you some good to get out the office_.”

“I’ll think about it. Thanks, Charlie.”

“ _Anytime, baby_.” Charlie smiled sadly, looking around as Paul comes back into shot and gestures for her to come into the kitchen when she’s done. “ _Look after yourself out there, you hear me? Otherwise I’m going to have to fly out there and kick your ass_.”

“It’s DC… the threats are kind of minimal when you’re sat behind a desk,” Mike laughs.

“ _Still, I’m not taking any chances. Talk to you later, Mikey_.” Charlie says, making a move to stand.

“Talk soon…” Mike says quietly, watching as the screen goes black.

After a moment, Mike sits back in his chair, his eyes looking round his office before landing on a photo of himself and Paul; the photo in question was taken after his first successful case, the group had decided to hit _Hector’s Tacos_ before drinks at the _The Drop_. Mike smiled as he picked the picture frame up from his desk, holding it in his hands as he gazed at it. Both men looked so happy… so _normal_.

Mike almost forgot for a moment that they were both Agents.

Sighing, Mike places the frame back on his desk before gathering up the necessary paperwork.

_I hope you’re happy, Paul; you finally got what you wanted… you won_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, friends, this is it... the end... it's been an emotional ride and I hope that you have all enjoyed this as much as I have. If any of you have an idea about what adventure you would like to see our Graceland crew go on, then let me know in the comments below and you never know... you might just see your idea come to life in a brand new fiction :) Thank you all for your support, it's very much appreciated! - _AnthemInMyTveit_


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